Heating season 2025: expert warns of collapse in housing and communal services
1 October 14:56
The fourth winter could be the most difficult for us under two conditions: continued shelling and very low air temperatures. The capacity reserve that was in our utility system, in the housing and utilities sector, has been exhausted. And this winter we may be left not only without electricity and gas, but also without heat and water. This was stated by Oleh Popenko, chairman of the Union of Consumers of Public Utilities, in an interview with the "Komersant Ukrainian" YouTube channel.
“In 2022, we had a super-powerful energy system built with a large reserve. These capacities are still enough for transmission, power grids, transformer substations, and regional power distribution companies, although the situation there was bad in 2020 and 2021. We had a super-powerful system, but the Russians still managed to create a blackout when they simultaneously hit the outlet transformer substations at nuclear power plants – those responsible for supplying electricity to the grid – and large 750-kV transmission substations. And then we had the only complete blackout for the entire period,” recalled Oleh Popenko.
“In 2023 and 2024, the Russians continued to hit transformer substations and destroyed our hydro generation. According to the expert, this is where serious problems arose, because we cannot replace either thermal or hydro generation with anything – neither solar nor wind energy works reliably.
In 2025, the shelling continued, and there are already major problems with electricity transmission.
“The situation is getting worse every year. And now they are also hitting the gas infrastructure to stop the possibility of gas transmission. Plus, our incompetent leadership has brought the water utilities to a critical state, and the water utility provides heat to thermal power plants and combined heat and power plants. Without a water utility, heating in the city is impossible. Therefore, we should not only talk about the fact that there will be no electricity and gas, but also no heat and water,” the expert noted.
And, as Oleg Popenko emphasized, Ukrainians should rely on their own resources. In addition, during this time, citizens have purchased a billion euros worth of generation equipment – generators, charging stations and other devices.
