For three weeks, 19 extra teams from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Ternopil, Volyn, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia and Khmelnytsky regions have been working in Kryvyi Rih. This is more than 130 people with additional special equipment. As of today, all the buildings in the city are technically connected to the heating system, as the extremely complex work on the heating networks has been completed in a short period of time. This was reported by Oleksiy Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration, Minister for Communities and Territories Development.

‘The teams worked around the clock and without interruption. Despite the completion of the main works, due to the deterioration of the heating system, some houses have leaks, which leads to a loss of heat supply. Residents also report insufficient heat in some homes. This is due to breakdowns, which are being repaired locally by Naftogaz crews. The temperature in the apartments will increase after these damages are repaired. The work will continue until stable heat supply is restored in each house," said Oleksii Kuleba.

He also stressed that the district heating companies are expected to make recalculated bills for November and December. Also, in the case of power outage schedules, they will not be applied in the houses with heating problems.

In his turn, Deputy Minister Timur Tkachenko thanked the repair brigades who had been working to connect the houses to heating as soon as possible.

"Through joint efforts, we have managed to stabilise the city's networks and normal operations are now underway. More than 1,000 houses have been connected to heating, which had never been supplied with heating before, during the heating season. There are indeed accidents and breakdowns, but you need to understand that the systems are worn out. We are addressing complaints from residents and continuing our work," said Timur Tkachenko.

The Ministry will continue to operate the Headquarters for the elimination of the consequences of accidents and for the connection of buildings to heat throughout the winter.

From now on, the Headquarters will be headed by the profile deputy Konstiantyn Kovalchuk.

As soon as possible, local authorities, representatives of Kryvyi Rih District Heating Plant and Naftogaz of Ukraine should develop a programme for the modernisation of heating networks for 2025, including the determination of funding sources. Preparations are also underway to implement a distributed generation scheme for electricity and heating, which will increase the resilience of the power system in the face of challenges.

As a reminder, criminal proceedings have been opened over the disruption of the heating season.