At the initiative of the President of Ukraine, the Government has developed a plan of five steps enabling to settle the tariff issue and to endure the heating season smoothly. This was stated by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine on September 30.

According to the Head of Government, the price of gas at European hubs has already reached almost UAH 30 per cubic meter due to the energy war waged against the whole of Europe by the Russian Federation aimed to put the Nord Stream-2 into operation.

"We have fixed the price of gas. Thanks to annual products, such a price for most Ukrainians will amount to less than UAH 8 per cubic meter. Almost 19 billion cubic meters of natural gas have already been accumulated in underground gas storage facilities for the stable passage of winter," Denys Shmyhal emphasized.

According to the Prime Minister, from October 1, for 80% of Ukrainian families, the price of electricity will be reduced to UAH 1.44 per kWh.

"Tariffs for heating and hot water are now approved by local authorities, which mostly own utility companies for heat production. This is a new management practice in the field of housing and communal services, which meets the world standards of all developed countries. It is also an important step that encourages local authorities to invest in the modernization of their district heating companies and energy efficiency measures," said the Prime Minister.

Apart from that, Denys Shmyhal reminded that in February this year the Government had signed a memorandum with the leaders of the major cities of Ukraine, thereby allowing not to increase tariffs in the heating season of 2020-2021.

"This is proof that the central and local authorities can find the right solutions and reasonable compromises in order to develop our state and help the citizens," said the Prime Minister.

In addition, Denys Shmyhal noted that together with the MPs the Government would make changes to the budget and increase the subsidy program by UAH 12 billion.