In Ukraine, a decision was made to cancel "summer time", which causes different reactions and discussions among the population. This decision was made against the background of discussions about the effectiveness and impact of such a transition on economic activity and everyday life of citizens.
We will remind you that draft law No. 4201 has been in the Verkhovna Rada for more than four years. Both at the time of the introduction of the draft law, and many years before that, and even during the Great War, experts did not get tired of talking about the fact that the idea of the need to move the hands has long been outdated, the economic effect of "tormenting" the clock is practically zero, and the impact on health I am negative at the same time. But, despite such unanimity, the first reaction to the adoption of the law by economists, analysts and energy experts is surprise and even indignation. What is wrong with the cancellation of "summer time"?
Experts helped to understand this issue.
1. Inappropriate time to make a decision
Let's say right away: experts do not back down from their words. Most say that there really is no economic sense in moving the arrows back and forth.
- At the current level of technology, there has been no expediency in switching to "summer time" for a long time, - noted economist Vladyslav Bankov . - This is rather a symbolic gesture, with the help of which ordinary people were shown for many years the need for the work of state institutions.
Oleksandr Okhrimenko, president of the Ukrainian Analytical Center, agrees: transferring arrows is a complete profanation that does not provide any savings.
But at the same time, even the opponents of changing the hours note every six months: the time for the adoption of the law, which has been inactive for more than four years, was chosen extremely poorly. In the third year of the war, given the grueling heat and 12-hour blackouts, most economists are, to put it mildly, not ready to discuss energy efficiency.
- The economic and energy effect, if any, will be minimal, I don't understand what the purpose of this decision is, - noted energy expert Yuriy Korolchuk.
2. It is necessary to reprogram all counters
Energy efficiency expert Ihor Cherkashin says that one of the important questions to which there is no answer today is who will reprogram all electronic electricity meters throughout Ukraine after the adoption of this law? For what money and with what forces will all this be done? Surely our energy workers have nothing else to do?
The issue of preferential hours is inextricably linked to hourly accounting, and this requires the replacement of the entire fleet of counters that were massively installed by non-monopolists.
Firstly, the expert noted in the conversation, unsealing each of the tens of thousands of meters, reprogramming and resealing is a huge job, there are simply not enough inspectors in Ukraine to do it in a few months.
Secondly, companies will include all these costs (often, by the way, useless, because old meters need to be changed, not reprogrammed) in the tariff, so in the end the consumer will pay for everything. Network companies benefit from constant manipulation, as this is yet another justification for raising tariffs.
3. Ideal only for the capital, and even then not completely
analyst Andriy Blinov noted on his Facebook page . - This is ideal for the 30th degree of eastern longitude, on which Kyiv is located. At first glance, it's amazingly astronomical. Noon (sun at the zenith) - at 12.00, midnight - at 24.00. However, the working day in the country is not from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., if we take astronomical noon as a basis, but mainly from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. And in general, in cities, people tend to be more active in the evening than in the morning."
At the same time, analyst Oleksiy Kush clarifies: the transfer of arrows is really important for industrially developed countries with a clearly marked working day, but for agrarian and service countries - there is no difference.
4. There will be less daylight in the spring and summer
An important question is whether the right time has been chosen for Ukraine? Yes, "winter time" is our astronomical time, but not everyone is inclined to it. And when, for example, the director of energy programs of the Razumkov Center, Volodymyr Omelchenko, claims that there is no big difference for energy, whether Ukraine will live in "summer time" or "winter time", Andriy Blinov believes that we will have fewer daylight hours.
If in winter most go to work and come home from work in the dark, then in the evening "summer time" allows you to turn on the lights an hour later, the analyst explains. This is the main energy effect: the possibility of saving an hour of lighting in the evening on the streets and in houses for most of the year. After all, if few people need sunlight now, in July, from 3 to 4 in the morning, then from 8 to 9 it is simply necessary, especially taking into account the most acute shortage of electricity in the country. Therefore, under the current conditions, such a "willful" reduction of daylight looks like bullying.
5. "Political shade"
Andrii Blinov considers this decision to be a bad one, which has a political overtone and divides society. The fact is that there is a big problem in Ukraine: one time zone for a large length of the country from east to west. As a result, the difference between sunrise in Kharkiv and Uzhgorod is almost an hour. If Ukraine remains on "winter time", the sun in Kharkiv will rise at 3:25 a.m. on the longest day in the summer, and sunset will be at 7:47 p.m. in the evening. That is, summer evenings will pass in the twilight, but the sun will shine at midnight. If the country stays on "summer time", then life will improve in Kharkiv. But in Uzhhorod in winter, the sun will rise at 9:20 a.m. and set at 5:38 p.m. That is, children will get to school in the dark almost all winter.
"This decision means that BP has spit deliciously at all those who live in the eastern regions. Because they will have the sun at three in the morning in the summer, journalist Serhii Sydorenko wrote on Facebook. - Yes, during the curfew. And after the war too. But who is interested in this in VR? At least not the majority of deputies."
Oleg Popenko of the Union of Utilities Consumers says that canceling the transfer of arrows is a good thing. There are only two questions: why, after several years of "intense work on the draft law", was it done now and why was the "winter time" left?
- We have a large territory, different cities are located in different time zones, - the expert noted in a conversation with Korotko pro . - Maybe we should have thought about leaving two time zones in Ukraine.
6. "Against logic and the sun"
According to Serhii Sydorenko, after the adoption of Law No. 4201, we will become the only country in Europe where, "contrary to geography, logic and the sun", several Western neighbors will have more time.
Andrii Blinov also draws attention to the fact that in travel we will have to move the arrows against any logic. If in March 2025, Ukraine really does not switch to "summer time", then when traveling, for example, to Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, the clock will have to be turned not back, which would be logical, but forward. After all, while it will be 6 in the morning in Kyiv, it will be 7 in Sofia, although it is much further west.
According to the analyst, for today, Ukraine should leave everything as it is, adhering to the current EU policy regarding reference frequencies and uniform time. And if Europe still decides to abandon the seasonal change of hands (we remind you that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the adoption of this decision was postponed to 2025. - Author), to introduce maternity time according to the principle of "time zone + 1 hour" . Or there is another option - to move working hours, as was done in many European countries. Start work not at nine, but at half past seven - eight in the morning, go to bed an hour earlier. That is, to shift the entire rhythm of life for an hour.
