Gas companies return with inspections and new bills
22 April 2025 17:29
Ukrainians should be prepared for an additional payment for the new service. This primarily concerns residents of apartment buildings that use gas.
In addition to paying for the fuel itself and its delivery, it is now necessary to pay for the maintenance of gas networks in the building itself.
How much will you have to pay, what is included in this amount, and how often it will have to be done – found out
Some people are just preparing for new payments, while others are already paying for a new inspection of the technical condition of gas networks and equipment in the house, namely, inspection of pipes, valves, connections, and a general assessment of the safety of gas supply.
The main purpose of this service is to prevent accidents and gas leaks and ensure a stable supply of gas to the home. And we would like to hope for this.
New payment: from 100 to 1000 UAH
According to Gazmerezhi, maintenance bills are already being sent to residents of apartment buildings in various regions where gas companies have completed work.
The amount indicated in the receipt is the total cost of the work performed on the high-rise building divided by the number of residents in it, excluding those who are not natural gas consumers.
Residents of one building will have the same amount in their bills. But the neighboring building may have a different amount.
It all depends on: the number of apartments in the building; the number of gas risers; the length of common property gas pipelines; the number of installed shut-off devices; and the distance to the nearest gas utility.
On average, Ukrainians will have to pay from 100 to 1,000 hryvnias for the maintenance of intra-house gas networks.
The frequency of maintenance depends on the age of the house: if the house is less than 25 years old, the inspection is carried out every 5 years; if it is older, every 3 years. Each consumer can find out what deficiencies need to be addressed in their home.
Maintenance certificates are freely available on the website of the Gas Network in their region.
And, as the gas company reminds, this is not their whim, but a requirement of the current legislation.
The new is the old forgotten
Indeed, according to Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine “On Housing and Utility Services”, the Order of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine No. 292 dated September 29, 2023, registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on October 4, 2023 under No. 1741/40797, approved the Procedure for the maintenance of intra-building gas supply systems in an apartment building.
And the Resolution of the National Commission for Regulation in the Spheres of Economy and Public Utilities No. 229 dated 05.12.2023 approved the Model Agreement for the Maintenance of In-Building Gas Supply Systems in an Apartment Building.
As the head of the Union of Consumers of Public Utilities, Oleh Popenko, notes in his commentary
“The fact is that no one was engaged in the maintenance of gas networks inside the house. An ordinary housing office could not do this. Even though this service was included in the bill until 2015, when they started to separate payments: separately for gas delivery, separately for the gas itself, and now separately for checking the technical condition of gas networks and equipment in an apartment building,” explains Oleh Popenko.
The good thing is that you don’t have to pay for this service every month, and the amount is relatively small – on average, 200 UAH. But the main question is how well this service will be provided and who will be responsible in the event of an emergency.
“There are fears that all the maintenance will be reduced to painting the pipes yellow. Real replacement, cleaning of pipes from debris, etc. may not take place. After all, there have already been many household gas explosions in apartment buildings because no one maintained the pipes, no one changed the valves, and no one checked for gas leaks. Residents need to control the work on checking the technical condition of the pipes,” says Oleg Popenko.
In fact, in the event of an accident, the company that maintains the building will be responsible. However, it will not bear any material costs in the event of an emergency, although the population will pay and expect quality service, the expert emphasizes.
Author: Alla Dunina
