The current rules for installing household meters and calculating the corresponding payments will be postponed for two years.
Due to the problems that arose during the war, with timely readings of commercial accounting nodes (common house meters, – ed.), the Verkhovna Rada is preparing to adopt a government law, which will establish temporary new rules for equipping buildings with heat and water meters, and utility payments corresponding services will be billed differently.
This is provided by draft law No. 7589 – on amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Commercial Accounting of Thermal Energy and Water Supply” regarding the features of commercial accounting during martial law, as well as the application of financial sanctions for violations of legislation in the field of commercial accounting of thermal energy and water supply.
According to the current law, collective (house-wide) heat and water meters must be installed in each multi-apartment building. Metering devices are installed at the expense of service companies, and this process was supposed to be completed by August 2022. A fine is provided for those companies that do not install meters on time.
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However, in connection with the war, the Cabinet of Ministers proposes to postpone the deadline for installation of household heat and water meters for two years – until August 1, 2024. And naturally, during these two years, no fines will be applied for uninstalled meters.
In addition, the draft law provides:
- Checking of counters will not be carried out during wartime. It will be postponed for the post-war period.
- It will be possible not to take readings from meters already installed in apartment buildings during martial law.
- In the first three months after the lifting of martial law, the representative of the enterprise , which provides communal services, must remove the meter reading. They will be days off for further calculation.
Accordingly, utility bills (heat and water) will be charged differently to residents of the building:
- Heat bills will be formed on the basis of the method of distribution among consumers of the volumes of utility services consumed in the building. This methodology was approved by the Ministry of Regions. At the same time, the heating bill will depend, in particular, on the air temperature outside.
- The water fee for residents who do not have apartment water meters, or who do not transmit the readings of their meters, will be calculated using a similar method.
- For those residents who have water meters installed in their apartments, the water fee will be calculated for by their statements.
Read also: Counter verification is not carried out during martial law: utility companies are silent about it
Let us remind you that the law obliges the service provider to provide monthly readings of commercial accounting units (household meters, – ed.)
Accounts for payment for the provided utility service is formed based on the indications of the commercial accounting unit of the corresponding utility service.
