Heating for 5000 Hryvnias: Who Will Be Affected by the Sharp Increase in Tariffs in 2025.

The indebtedness of Ukrainians for utility services has reached record levels, and the situation may worsen significantly after the planned tariff increase in 2025.

This was reported by the head of the 'Utility Consumers Union' Oleg Popenko, who is an expert in the energy and housing sector.

'Today, the debts for heating in Ukraine amount to about 90 billion Hryvnias. This takes into account the occupied territories and illegal bills that have been issued throughout Ukraine,' said the expert.

According to him, separately, the debts for gas exceed 60 billion Hryvnias, and some sources mention a figure even up to 100 billion. However, with the expert's forecasts, the situation will only worsen.

'As soon as the tariffs are raised to market levels, the debts for gas will increase from the current 100 billion to 150 billion Hryvnias. Let's be honest - 80% of the population cannot pay even the existing tariffs,' Popenko emphasized.

The expert noted that in 2025, a significant increase in tariffs for all utility services, particularly gas, is expected. This may lead to an increase in the heating costs, as gas constitutes the majority of the heating cost.

'If a family currently pays about 2500 Hryvnias for heating a 50-square-meter apartment, then after the increase, this amount will jump to 5000 Hryvnias. At the same Time, no increase in salaries is expected in the next 2-3 years,' Popenko added.

The situation is further aggravated by the fact that in 2025, it is planned to cut funding for subsidies by 5 billion Hryvnias. According to the expert, this may lead to people being forced to sell property to pay for utility services.

'In the end, we will have a situation where Ukrainians will pay for utilities like in Germany, but will receive incomparably lower salaries,' the expert concluded.

It should be noted that Ukraine previously committed to the IMF to bring utility tariffs to market levels even amidst ongoing military actions.