Kyiv City Council approves energy sustainability plan for the capital: what it entails
10 March 21:02
At an extraordinary meeting, deputies of the Kyiv City Council approved a plan for the capital’s energy security. Ninety-two deputies voted in favor of the decision, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, as reported by Komersant.
According to the mayor, this is a comprehensive document that defines steps to improve the sustainability of the city’s energy and utility infrastructure against the backdrop of constant attacks by Russia.
Why was the document adopted by the Kyiv City Council?
Klitschko noted that city councils in Ukraine had not previously adopted such comprehensive plans.
According to him, in other regions, the resilience plans, which were considered at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, were signed by the heads of regional military administrations.
In the case of Kyiv, the mayor claims that he was required to sign the document alone, but the law stipulates that such a decision must be made by the city council.
Dispute with the central government
The mayor of Kyiv also said that while preparing the document, the city was forced to adjust its plans.
According to him, this is due to the fact that the state does not plan to fully finance measures to ensure the capital’s energy security.
At the same time, the central government has previously criticized the city authorities. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the capital’s authorities should work more actively on solutions to protect infrastructure, and Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko emphasized the need to develop decentralized heat supply.
Why Kyiv is particularly vulnerable
Klitschko stressed that the capital has a special infrastructure structure.
The city was built on the principle of highly centralized energy systems, particularly heat supply.
Kyiv has the largest centralized heat supply system in Ukraine, as well as about 18% of all high-rise buildings in the country.
Because of this, any damage to the energy infrastructure can affect a significant number of residents.
What the plan entails
The new sustainability plan has a few key areas:
- development of distributed power generation;
- creation of backup power and heat supply systems;
- restoration of damaged critical infrastructure facilities;
- preparing the city for next winter.
The city has already begun to implement some of the urgent measures without waiting for the procedures to be completed.
Funding
According to Klitschko, the implementation of the plan requires significant resources, so the document is structured according to priority.
The city plans to ask the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to contribute to the financing, provide equipment, and other resources.
The Kyiv authorities are also working with international partners to attract additional assistance.
NSDC decision
In early March, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine approved resilience plans for all regions and regional centers, but Kyiv was not included in this list.
