The current situation and priority steps aimed at ensuring readiness for a sustainable passage of the 2022/2023 autumn-winter period were discussed by the Government’s team and heads of regions during a conference call chaired by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

The Head of the Government emphasized that the preparation for the heating season had commenced in the spring. For the second month already, the headquarters for preparations for the autumn-winter period has been working under martial law.

"Strategically, gearing up process includes four key aspects. The first is gas reserves. The second is a sufficient amount of coal reserves. The Ministry of Energy is working to ensure twice as much coal reserves as was traditionally the case. The third is the readiness of energy-generating infrastructure enterprises. And the fourth is preparation for responding to emergency situations," said Denys Shmyhal.

According to the Prime Minister, everyone in Ukraine and Europe understands that russia will continue the energy war, use gas as a hybrid weapon, and therefore both are preparing for any scenarios of passage of the heating season.

The Prime Minister added that a 24/7 structural subdivision functioned within the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, which was established to increase the efficiency and capacity of the headquarters in preparation for the heating season. In addition, the Verkhovna Rada supported government bills that provide an opportunity to cover the difference in local tariffs and ensure the economy of the heating season.

The participants of the meeting also heard information from the Minister for Communities and Territories Development, Oleksii Chernyshov, and the Minister of Energy, German Galushchenko, regarding the current situation and readiness for the heating season.

According to the data provided by the Ministry of Energy, 1.83 million tons of coal out of the planned 2.5 million tons have already been accumulated in TPP and CHP storage facilities. Also, more than 12 billion cubic meters of gas have been pumped in relevant storage facilities. As was reported by the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, the planned indicator of readiness of facilities for the heating season on August 1 is 60%. In general, the country is moving within the scope of the plan (56-58%), some regions have been given the task to accelerate.

The Government’s team also assured that they would continue to support and facilitate the preparation of documents for those regions that use and introduce alternative fuels. In particular, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development to work out the issue of simplifying permitting procedures for providing an environmental impact assessment during the design and construction of heat supply facilities using alternative types of fuel.