Shmyhal: Ukraine has enough gas in storage and coal in stock to get through winter

Ukraine has sufficient gas in storage and coal in stock to get through the winter, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated at a government meeting on October 15.

"Ukraine is on the brink of the heating season. The government, regional military administrations, and local authorities are working in sync in three key areas to ensure all homes remain lit and warm throughout the winter. The first area is infrastructure preparation. As of today, more than 99% of residential buildings are ready. The number of schools, kindergartens, and hospitals prepared for winter is also approaching 100%. Over 18,000 boiler houses and 4,800 central heating facilities are ready to supply heat", - the prime minister noted.

"The second area is resource accumulation. Currently, we have 12.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas in storage, as well as 3.1 million tons of coal in stock. This is enough to get through the winter. All nine nuclear power plant units under Ukraine's control are operational", - Shmyhal emphasized.

"The third area of winter preparation is the development of decentralized power generation. Government-initiated energy resilience programs are underway, including 0% loans for citizens, loans for homeowners' associations under the GreenDIM program, '5-7-9%' loans for small and medium-sized businesses, and concessional loans from the 'Ukraine Decarbonization Fund' for municipal enterprises and communities. In total, banks have already issued loans worth 2 billion UAH to various categories of borrowers", - the prime minister concluded.