Kharkiv may be left without water supply due to systematic debts.

The water supply for residents of Kharkiv may be halted from December 23 due to disconnection from the power grid. The state enterprise 'Ukrinterenergo' sent a demand letter to the utility company 'Kharkivvodokanal' for a complete cessation of electricity distribution due to an existing debt of 168 million UAH.

Expert Oleksandr Holizdra notes that 'Kharkivvodokanal' and 'Ukrinterenergo' have become hostages of a general circle of debts in the energy sector due to distortion of real tariffs and imperfection of the compensation mechanism for tariff differences.

If the requirements of 'Ukrinterenergo' are not met by the consumer, the volumes of electricity consumed will be accounted for as losses to the distribution system operator. 'Kharkivvodokanal' already has a debt to the operator of 1.692 billion UAH, including a debt of 1.178 billion UAH for distribution and electricity.

To avoid disruptions in water supply in Kharkiv and other cities, systemic solutions at the state level are necessary. So far, the city is working on a new energy system to have independent generation of electricity. Also, to avoid energy constraints for businesses, it is necessary to actively import electricity for local needs.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia continues to attack the energy sector, so Ukrainians need to prepare for possible blackouts.