Ukraine has decided to abolish “summer time,” which has caused mixed reactions and discussions among the population. This decision was made against the backdrop of discussions about the effectiveness and impact of such a transition on economic activity and the daily lives of citizens.
Let us recall that Bill No. 4201 has been in the Verkhovna Rada for over four years. Both at the time the bill was introduced, and many years before that, and even during the Great War, experts never tired of saying that the idea of the need to change the clocks is long outdated, the economic effect of “tormenting” the clocks is practically zero, and the impact on health is negative. 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's wrong with the abolition of “summer time”?
Experts helped to understand this issue.
1. Inappropriate time for decision making
Let's say it right away: experts do not back down from their words. Most say that moving the arrows back and forth really does not make any economic sense.
– At the current level of technology, there has long been no expediency in switching to “summer time,” economist Vladislav Bankov . – This is more of a symbolic gesture, with the help of which ordinary people have been shown for many years the need for the work of state institutions.
President of the Ukrainian Analytical Center Oleksandr Okhrimenko agrees: switching the switches is a complete profanation that does not provide any savings.
But even opponents of changing the clocks every six months note that the time for passing the law, which has been stalled for more than four years, was extremely poorly chosen. In the third year of the war, with the exhausting heat and 12-hour power outages, most economists are, to put it mildly, not ready to discuss energy efficiency.
“The economic and energy effect, if any, is minimal; I don't understand the purpose of this decision,” said energy expert Yuriy Korolchuk.
2. All counters need to be reprogrammed
Energy efficiency expert Ihor Cherkashin says that one of the important questions that remains unanswered today is who will reprogram all electronic electricity meters throughout Ukraine after the adoption of this law? How much money and by what means will this all be done? Do our energy professionals really have nothing else to do?
The issue of preferential hours is inextricably linked to hourly metering, and this requires replacing the entire fleet of meters that were not installed en masse by monopolists.
Firstly, the expert noted in the conversation, unsealing each of the tens of thousands of meters, reprogramming them, and resealing them is a huge job; there simply aren't enough inspectors in Ukraine to have time to do it in a few months.
Secondly, the companies will include all these costs (often, by the way, useless, because old meters need to be replaced, not reprogrammed) in the tariff, so in the end the consumer will pay for everything. The network companies benefit from constant manipulations, as this is another justification for raising tariffs.
3. Ideal only for the capital, and even then not quite
"Permanent "winter" time means that Ukraine will live according to true solar time (GMT+2), without decrees and corrections," analyst Andriy Blinov . "This is ideal for the 30th degree of east longitude, where Kyiv is located. At first glance, it looks great astronomically. Noon (the sun is at its zenith) is at 12:00, midnight is at 24:00. However, the working day in the country is not from 7:30 to 16:30, if we take astronomical noon as a basis, but mainly from 9 to 18. And in general, in cities, people tend to be more active in the evening than in the morning."
At the same time, analyst Oleksiy Kushch clarifies: changing the clocks is indeed important for industrially developed countries with a clearly defined working day, but for agricultural and service countries, there is no difference.
4. In spring and summer, there will be less light in the evening
An important question is whether the correct time has been chosen for Ukraine? Yes, “winter time” is our astronomical time, but not everyone is inclined to it. And while, for example, the director of energy programs at the Razumkov Center, Volodymyr Omelchenko, claims that for the energy sector there is no big difference whether Ukraine will live on “summer time” or “winter time,” Andriy Blinov believes that we will have less daylight.
If in winter most people go to work and come home 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 ability to save an hour of lighting in the evening on the streets and in houses for most of the year. After all, if now, in July, from 3 to 4 in the morning, few people need sunlight, then from 8 to 9 it is simply necessary, especially given the acute electricity shortage in the country. So, under current conditions, such a “willful” reduction in daylight hours looks like a mockery.
5. “Political Overtones”
Andriy Blinov considers this decision bad, has a political overtone and divides society. The fact is that Ukraine has a big problem: one time zone for a large stretch of the country from east to west. As a result, the difference between sunrise in Kharkiv and Uzhhorod is almost an hour. If Ukraine remains on “winter time”, the sun in Kharkiv will rise at 3.25 on the longest day in the summer, while sunset in the evening will be at 19.47. That is, evenings in the summer will be at dusk, but the sun will shine at midnight. If the country remains on “summer time”, then life in Kharkiv will improve. But in Uzhhorod in winter the sun will rise at 9.20 and set at 17.38. That is, children will get to school in the dark almost all winter.
“This decision means that the Verkhovna Rada has spit on everyone who lives in the eastern regions. Because in the summer there will be sun at three in the morning,” journalist Serhiy Sydorenko wrote on Facebook. “Yes, during the curfew. And after the war too. But who in the Verkhovna Rada is interested in this? At least not the majority of deputies.”.
The head of the Union of Consumers of Public Utilities, Oleg Popenko, says that the cancellation of the switchover is a good thing. Only two questions arise: why, after several years of “hard work on the draft law,” was it done now and why was “winter time” left?
– We have a large territory, different cities are located in different time zones, – the expert noted in a conversation with Korotko about . – Perhaps we should have thought about leaving two time zones in Ukraine.
6. "Contrary to logic and the sun"
According to Serhiy Sydorenko, after the adoption of Law No. 4201, we will become the only country in Europe in which, "contrary to geography, logic, and the sun," several western neighbors will have more time.
Andriy Blinov also draws attention to the fact that when traveling, we will have to turn the clocks against all logic. If Ukraine does not switch to “summer time” in March 2025, 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 am in Kyiv, it will be 7 am in Sofia, although it is much further west.
According to the analyst, for now, Ukraine should leave everything as it is, adhering to the current EU policy on reference frequencies and a single time. And if Europe still decides to abandon the seasonal change of clocks (recall that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the adoption of this decision was postponed to 2025. - Author), introduce maternity leave on the principle of "time zone + 1 hour". Or there is another option - to shift working hours, as was done in many European countries. Start work not at nine, but at half past seven - at eight in the morning, go to bed an hour earlier. That is, shift the entire rhythm of life by an hour.
