Third payment for gas: how much Ukrainians will pay for new service in 2024

Starting in January 2024, Ukrainians will see a new payment on their electricity bill receipts. Residents of apartments using gas will have expenses for entry and maintenance of gas pipes within the apartment. An article in the Observer publication explains why a new type of payment has been introduced and how much you’ll have to pay.

Important

The portal’s journalists talked with the head of the ProOSBB Charity Foundation, Victoria Pogorelova. Pogorelova explained that for several years in a row, not a single institution has inspected the technical condition of gas distribution networks operating inside houses. Until 2018, funds were included in the gas payments received by gas distribution network operators. However, this was later cancelled. By January 5, operators must estimate the cost of such work, and then another gas-related column will appear in their invoices.

The article states that starting from 2024, Ukrainians will pay 25-65 UAH per month for the maintenance of gas pipes inside the house. You can hire a local gas operator or other company with the appropriate permit to perform this job.

Gas payments – details

The new gas payment is regulated by three documents approved by the Ukrainian government and disclosed on the “Rubrika” portal: the order of the Ministry of Energy No. 292 of September 2, 2023, the decision of the national regulator (NKREKU) Law No. 2291 of December 5, 2023 and the technical developed by NEURC Methodology for calculating the cost of services.

By the end of 2023, Ukrainians will receive two payments: for gas (the gas supplier receives the money) and for gas delivery (the gas distribution network operator receives the money).

The scheduling operator handles the maintenance of pipes leading to an apartment building. However, once the pipes are in, from January 2024, direct users (condominium or homeowners) will have to deal with the condition of the pipes.

Third payment for gas – what will Ukrainians pay for?

According to the Gazseti portal, the cost of maintaining in-house networks will be different for different regional gas companies. They must be published on the relevant portals of regional gas companies. Once the price is determined, the flat owner or homeowner must conclude an appropriate standard agreement with the local gas transmission operator or another body that will inspect the technical condition of the pipes.

The approximate range of the maintenance tariff is from 25 to 69 UAH. For example, the Poltavagaz company found that residents of the Poltava region will pay 25.9 UAH in the next six months or can make a one-time payment of 155.5 UAH every six months. This amount will vary from region to region; depends on the status of the networks and available equipment.

What is included in home pipe maintenance?

The money that Ukrainians will pay as part of the third gas payment will go to maintenance:

• once a year – visual inspection of gas pipelines;
• every six months – check the tightness of the connections;
• every three years – pressure tightness check;
• once a year – check locking devices, automation, ventilation, alarms, etc. Check.

At the beginning of December 2023 Focus He wrote about how the market price of gas in Ukraine changed during the year. According to the Ministry of Economy, the price has dropped by half. In particular, in December they paid about 14 thousand UAH for 1 thousand cubic meters of gas, and in March almost 30 thousand UAH.

Meanwhile, it was learned that two more gas wells were discovered in Ukraine on December 19. According to preliminary estimates, up to 200 thousand cubic meters of gas can be obtained from them per day. Meanwhile, in Russia, they continue to make money from gas and spend this money on the war in Ukraine: Gazprom has published a report on profits in 2023.