THE WORK PERFORMED DURING THE BETWEEN HEATING PERIOD PROVIDE CONFIDENCE THAT THE NETWORKS ARE READY FOR THE HEATING SEASON – LIVIGAZ SAID
Yesterday, JSC “Lvivgaz”, operating under the brand “Regional Gas Company” held a press conference on the eve of the beginning of the heating season. They talked about technical training, the importance of correct accounting of gas and calculations for its distribution, as well as the correct interpretation of the regulatory and legal part of the work of the operator of gas distribution networks JSC “Lvivgaz”.
Oleksandr Ganja, Director of Technical JSC “Lvivgaz” spoke about the readiness of the equipment on the eve of the heating season:
“There are about 4,500 gas distribution points operating in Lviv region, which maintain the gas pressure in the system within normal limits. According to the investment program, which is financed from the distribution tariff and approved by the NERC of the KP, this year we replaced 96 kilometers of gas distribution networks, replaced 50 gas distribution points, repaired 40 cathodic protection stations. All this gives confidence that we are ready for the heating season.”
Oleg Vintsyuk, commercial director of Lvivgaz JSC, spoke about the change in gas consumption compared to last year. The use of natural gas depends primarily on the number of consumers and the temperature regime. In general, the volume of natural gas decreased by 14%, or by more than 120 million cubic meters. Industry consumption fell the most – by 40% (46 million cubic meters). Among the population, consumption decreased by only 2% compared to the same period last year.
Due to the drop in gas consumption by industry and TKE enterprises (heat and communal energy), the largest consumer is the population – about 55%. Since provision of consumers with trouble-free and uninterrupted gas supply is possible thanks to timely payment, Oleg Vintsyuk also spoke about debts to the company:
“We currently have significant debts. Almost 370 million hryvnias. The largest debtors are heating companies, their level of payments is only 55 percent. Lviv thermal power plants owe the most, with a debt share of more than 90 percent of the total TKE. The payment of the population has also decreased, we can see that there are some consumers who paid in previous years, but stopped in 2022. It should be understood that your payment helps us to work, to quickly eliminate malfunctions on the networks.”
They also talked about the gas year. Thus, the transmission of indicators for September, which lasts from October 1 to 5, is the last in the gas year. It is on the amount of gas consumed in the period from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 that the amount of ordered capacity will depend on, and the amount in payments will be formed from January onwards (the principle of formation of the amount in payments is in the picture).
Representatives of JSC “Lvivgaz” stated the need to prepare for the heating season not only by enterprises of critical infrastructure, but also by consumers: in order to be sure of the integrity of indoor networks, it is recommended to carry out technical maintenance of networks and devices in the house once a year.
The normative and legal part was summed up with a press conference. Thus, attention was focused on the area of responsibility of JSC “Lvivgaz” as the operator of gas distribution networks, which remains unchanged. The National Commission for State Regulation in the Energy and Utilities Sectors (hereinafter referred to as the NCRECP) published on its website the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Procedure for Calculations for Natural Gas Distribution Services.” Making changes to the calculation procedure does not bring any changes in the provision of gas distribution services for natural gas consumers – explained Mykola Shiyan, adviser on contractual relations of Lvivgaz JSC.