A new gas metering system is being imposed on Ukrainians
The planned transition of Ukrainians to the European system of metering gas consumption in energy units should not be started during a crisis, as this would mean additional costs for people.
Former Ukrainian Economy Minister Viktor Suslov announced this on the 112 Ukraine TV channel, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“The transition to energy units is in line with world practice, but we are not used to it yet, and we will need to get used to it. But I’m not sure that this is being done in a timely manner, because this is 150-200 dollars of additional expenses, because gas meters will be installed at people’s expense,” Suslov noted.
“This will be good business for some. But a crisis year is clearly the wrong time for such a massive replacement, especially since installing millions of these meters is a huge job. I would still advise the government not to do this this year, but to start in the summer and gradually move through the zones,” the economist added.
In his opinion, most likely, they will try to force people to buy new meters, because otherwise they will simply be charged based on the maximum calorie content of gas and it will become unprofitable to count consumption with the old meter.
“I don’t know how it will be, how voluntary it will be. I think people will be forced to do it. Obviously, if the meters are not changed at the set time, they will start calculating according to some other indicators, for example, they will start calculating according to the maximum calorie content of this gas, and everyone will have to pay, this will encourage them to switch to new meters,” Suslov summed up.
On November 2, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law that transfers all gas consumers in Ukraine to the European metering system: instead of cubic meters - kilowatt-hours (kWh). The new rules should come into effect from May 2022. Until this time, gas metering will be carried out according to the current methodology.
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