Friday, October 3, 2014

Ukrainians are Gearing Up for a Winter Without Russian Gas

For Alexei Polezhai, who sells water heaters and wood-burning stoves at his two shops in Kiev, sales this fall have been remarkably good considering the dramatic collapse in the rest of the Ukrainian economy this year.
Ukrainians are rushing to insulate their walls, seal up drafty windows, and snap up heating equipment as the possibility sets in that they may be about to experience their first winter without Russian gas.
Russia stopped gas deliveries to Ukraine in June after Kiev failed to pay what Moscow said it owed in arrears. As the two sides play brinkmanship over whether to sign a stopgap deal that would provide Kiev with enough gas to get through the winter, many Ukrainians are left wondering whether they may have to fend for themselves in the coldest months. Ukraine has some gas stored, but it will not last through the winter.
‘‘People are afraid they will turn off the gas supply entirely,’’ said Polezhai. Demand for his water heaters is about 15 times higher than normal, and sales for wood-burning stoves are also up dramatically. The warehouses where he buys the water heaters have hiked prices by up to 50 percent.
‘‘What to some is war, to others is profit,’’ he joked.
A worker insulate the outer wall of a building in Kiev, Ukraine
Whereas Oct. 1 typically is the date when central heating is turned on for the winter, first in public buildings and by the middle of the month in residential buildings, this year the government has warned it won’t supply heat until early November, when temperatures can easily dip below freezing.
For more rural residents, preparing for that means chopping extra wood or buying a wood-burning stove. For city residents, options are more limited: They are stocking up on blankets, buying water heaters, and insulating their homes, but otherwise are simply left to cross their fingers.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

If you like what you see, please "Like" us on Facebook either here or here. Please follow us on Twitter here.


No comments: