(KYIV, UKRAINE) – President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a new law designed to support the development of efficient and stable centralised heating across Ukraine. The legislation paves the way for the gradual installation of individual heating substations in buildings connected to district heating networks.
The signing was confirmed by an entry on the parliamentary website and reported by The Daily Handle. The law serves as one of the indicators for the implementation of the Ukraine Facility programme, the European Union’s financial support instrument for the country.
The central aim of the law is to create conditions for the step by step installation of individual heating substations in residential and other buildings that are linked to centralised heat supply systems. It updates the legal framework for the heating sector and sets the stage for modernisation, development and improved operation of district heating across Ukraine.
The document sets out several specific provisions. It declares support for centralised heating as a matter of state interest. It encourages the use of renewable energy sources and cogeneration plants. It promotes the development of investment programmes in the heating sector. It introduces mechanisms that will make the installation of individual heating substations mandatory in buildings attached to district heating systems. It assigns responsibility for servicing these substations to heat transport organisations. It refines the process for setting heat energy tariffs. It also clarifies the competitive principles for activities in the heating sector.
The requirement to install individual heating substations will come into force six months after the end of martial law in Ukraine. The law also allows the cost of installing such substations to be included in the heat energy tariff. This is intended to create conditions for drawing investment into the modernisation of heat supply systems, according to the relevant ministry.
Lawmakers expect that putting the provisions into practice will help modernise heating infrastructure, attract investment into the sector, raise energy efficiency and make heat supply more reliable. Consumers should benefit from better quality heating and hot water services. The changes are also expected to lower the costs of producing, transporting and supplying heat energy.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, passed draft law number 14067 in its second reading on 15 July. A total of 243 members of parliament backed the legislative initiative.