On September 20, 2022, U.S. Government handed over heat pipes and shut-off valves worth about USD 1.3 million allowing restoration of district heating to over 20,000 residents of Kyiv. The total length of pipes handed over by the US Government via USAID’s Energy Security Project is 11 kilometers.
The handed-over pipes were immediately used by the employees of the Communal Utility Kyivteploenergo (KTE), working on the restoration of heating networks at the territory of Kyiv’s Gymnasium No.34. The section being replaced is 2030 linear meters of centralized heating and hot water supply networks and is the longest one among those damaged and being currently restored.
The support provided by US Government through the USAID and its Energy Security Project, will allow Kyivteploenergo to rehabilitate external sections of the district heating network, which will enable the utility to resume supplying heat and hot water to 6 Kyiv sites, including those on the following streets: Mostytska, Bohatyrska, Svobody, Tatarska, Academician Tupolev and Danylo Shcherbakovskiy. The district networks at these streets were damaged by russian military aggression.
The handed over are polymer pre-insulated pipelines, allowing Kyivteploenergo to decrease technical losses and reduce gas consumption. These pipes and fittings have up to 50 years of service life and a low heat loss level and are in line with European Union (EU) standards. These pipes and valves that allow KTE to minimize shutdowns in apartments, homes, and businesses, represent only a portion of the assistance the U.S. Government is providing through USAID’s Energy Security Project to restore district heating in Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine.
“Since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, the U.S. government has provided a range of support to help ensure the continued flow of electricity and heating to homes, hospitals, schools, and businesses across Ukraine. That includes, today, providing pipes to Kyivteploenergo to restore heat and hot water to over 22,000 people in Kyiv. We’re working across the country, in over 19 oblasts to partner with Ukraine, repair energy infrastructure, and provide heat to over seven million Ukrainian citizens across the country,” – said USA Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink, participating in the handover.
As stated by Oleksii Chernyshov, Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, “One of the critical tasks in our interaction with international partners is synchronizing efforts to support communities. Coordination and exchange of information will significantly strengthen the capacity of communities before the most challenging heating season in the history of Ukraine. US aid is crucial for Ukrainian communities. We are grateful and confident in the continuation of cooperation.”
Kyiv city authorities express their gratitude to the US Government and the USAID Energy Security Project for their extremely valuable assistance, including replacing more than 11 km of heating networks in four districts of Kyiv. “I am sure that, taking into account the help of partners, the efforts that are made every day by the municipal authorities of the city of Kyiv to prepare for the next heating season, we will pass it stably and reliably,” said Petro Panteleev, Deputy Head of Kyiv City State Administration.
According to the Director of CU Kyivteploenergo, Vyacheslav Bind, the assistance provided by the USAID Energy Security Project, helps Kyivteploenergo to implement the Comprehensive Automated Utility Financial Management System, enhancing the utility’s transparency and accountability.
USAID’s assistance to Kyivteploenergo also foresees the development of project documentation under the EBRD loan program. It will enable the installation of a flue gas heat utilizer at CHP-5 and powerful modern heat storage tanks at CHP-6, and optimization of heat supply schemes. It will also allow implementing of an integrated SCADA dispatch control and data collection system, which in its turn, will make possible effective monitoring and regulation of heat supply services in real-time, increase the level of the utility’s energy efficiency, and enable gas, electricity and water savings within the centralized heat supply system. All these steps will reduce the number of emergencies, save funds on network maintenance and increase the system’s reliability in general.
Through the support of the US Government, provided via the USAID’s Energy Security Project, Kyivteploenergo will get the equipment and solutions to rehabilitate external sections of the district heating networks, to enable the utility to resume supplying heat and hot water to residents and consumers, which is critically important in getting prepared to the upcoming winter season.