Kyivteploenergo announces attempt by law enforcers to disrupt work of its largest division

On Monday, the municipal enterprise Kyivteploenergo (KTE) announced an attempt by law enforcers to disrupt the work of its largest division, Kyiv Thermal Networks, following a previous attempt during investigative actions on November 22 to disrupt the restoration of equipment destroyed by shelling at one of Kyiv's thermal power plants.

"This time, representatives of the territorial department of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) in Kyiv came to Kyiv Thermal Networks joint venture, which includes more than 160 heat sources, 2,700 heating networks and emergency teams that daily restore heat supply and repair damage to worn-out pipelines," the company reported on Telegram.

In parallel, searches were launched at the head office of the utility company.

KTE expressed bewilderment about the circumstances of the investigators' arrival. In particular, the reason for the searches at the heat power plant was not the discovery of a crime, but oral information from third parties.

"Today, law enforcement officers came under an outdated court ruling, which is already more than a month old. It seems that law enforcement officers are deliberately accumulating a reserve of artificial reasons to use them in business or political interests to exert pressure," the company noted.

KTE reported that, according to the court ruling, the reason for the criminal proceedings is the accusation of concluding contracts at inflated cost prices for improvement work after repairing damage to the heating networks. At the same time, law enforcement officers ignore the fact that the winner of the bidding was determined automatically on a competitive basis in the public procurement system ProZorro with the selection of the lowest of the proposed offers.

"Since concluding contracts without holding a tender, for which permission was temporarily granted during martial law, does not suit law enforcement agencies either, and there are no other methods of conducting purchases provided for by law, Kyivteploenergo does not understand how purchases should be made in such a case, including materials that are critical for the energy complex," the company emphasized.

KTE claims that during the searches, as in previous cases, the company did not interfere with the investigative actions.

"Considering the current situation, Kyivteploenergo declares increased pressure on the largest thermal power enterprise of Ukraine, which is an integral part of the energy system of Ukraine. After all, in the last two working days alone, investigative actions at important life support facilities have been carried out for the second time," KTE stated.

KTE drew attention to the fact that in the event of a disruption in the operation of its critical infrastructure facilities, the energy supply of consumers throughout Ukraine could be affected.