Preparing for the next heating season: Expert highlights key areas for urgent action

Most of the challenges in preparing for the next heating season are concentrated at the city level. Given the current state of the energy infrastructure, several cities need to begin intensive preparations as soon as possible. This is especially true for Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.

Oleksandr Kharchenko, Director of the Energy Industry Research Center (EIRC), underscored this urgency during a briefing at Media Center Ukraine.

“A significant portion of the issues that need to be addressed ahead of the next heating season are, first and foremost, at the city level. Take Kryvyi Rih, for example—it’s a disaster. Given the current circumstances, it’s hard for me to see what can realistically be accomplished in just one season. The situation is dire,” Kharchenko stressed.

He noted that Kharkiv and Odesa also face substantial challenges in preparing for winter.

“Kharkiv and Odesa require enormous efforts—critical efforts. These cities must be a top priority. Their heating infrastructure is riddled with problems, and ongoing attacks on distribution networks only worsen the situation. All these issues stem from the war—strikes on boiler houses, power generation, and distribution networks. It’s a very difficult situation, and we must focus our resources on restoration and all related efforts,” he explained.

The expert emphasized the need for immediate action, particularly in cities where the energy infrastructure is in the most critical condition.

“There are no guarantees that next winter won’t be harsh. That’s why we must prepare—intensively and without delay. The current heating season isn’t even over yet, but we need to be thinking about the next one. The cities I mentioned—Kryvyi Rih, Odesa, Kharkiv, and to some extent, Mykolaiv—must be our primary focus because the situation there is deeply concerning,” Kharchenko added.

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