The Poltava City Council has adopted the 2022-2032 City Heat Supply Scheme, developed with the support of the USAID Energy Security Project (ESP). This strategic document includes an analysis of the current status of the heat supply system and proposals for improving it to ensure a sustainable and efficient energy supply for the community, as well as optimization of fuel balance in the city’s heat production.
The City Heat Supply System has been modernized under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between USAID ESP and Poltava City Council in 2021. The previous municipality document on the modernization of the Poltava Heat Supply System was effective through 2015, but the City lacked its own funds to draft the new document.
When developing the new City Heat Supply Scheme, USAID experts highlighted the following main problems, common among other cities in Ukraine. They include wear of some equipment and damage to heat network piping, the fluctuating temperature of the heat carrier temperature, and issues concerning fuel consumption regulation depending on the weather.
The key objectives of the new City Heat Supply Scheme developed with the support of the USAID ESP are as follows:
- For years 3-5: ensure 100% of heat supply metering and regulation at customers’ inlets; the possibility of adapting the energy sources subject to quantitative regulation of thermal energy output.
- For years 5-7: reduce losses in networks to a figure not higher than 10%, produce at least 30% of heat from renewable energy sources (RES), introduce efficient cogeneration, and recover the waste heat.
- For years 7-10: produce at least 50% of heat from RES, utilize efficient cogeneration, and recover the waste heat.
The adopted City Heat Supply Scheme allows for comprehensive modernization and improvement of heat supply efficiency, unlike the fragmented modernizations in previous years. Apart from the detailed analysis, this strategic document includes the city’s heat supply development strategy and the long-term investment program. They will allow the city to efficiently attract investors and develop an advanced, reliable, and environmentally friendly heat supply that will consider modern European trends for heat supply systems and Ukraine’s obligations as a part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement on decarbonization.
The development of heat supply schemes is a crucial step toward the energy-efficient transformation of Ukraine’s residential settlements. In partnership with 12 Ukrainian cities, USAID ESP is developing new district heating (DH) schemes and investment plans to modernize heat networks. Besides Poltava, heat supply schemes have also been developed for Khmelnytskyi, Lutsk, Okhtyrka, Slavutych, and Kherson. Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Lviv, and Ternopil are also identified as city partners. This will result in a more reliable, economically efficient, safe, and qualitative heat supply system for residents.