«Your expert did not walk around Mykolaiv, but assessed from Kyiv», — Regional Heating Director Lohvinov criticised EU integrity audits

Mykola Logvinov, Head of «Mykolaivoblteploenergo». Photo: NikVesti.

Commenting on the results of the Integrity Assessment of the utility company, Mykola Lohvinov, director of «Mykolaivoblteploenergo», said that the auditors hired by the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI) did not personally examine their activities.

He said this during the presentation of the results of the Integrity Assessment of two utility companies on 20 August, according to NikVesti.

As a reminder, the work of the utility was rated at 285 points out of 435 possible — 24 points more than the minimum standard. Experts praised the company for annual audits, proper accounting, the use of alternative fuels, backup energy sources and cooperation with donors. The recommendations included further automation of emergency applications, transition to electronic document management, development of a long-term strategy and implementation of a modern corporate governance system.

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However, after the experts' presentation, Mykola Lohvinov said that the company operates in a specific area and has significant financial constraints. In particular, as of 2025, the state owes «Mykolaivoblteploenergo» more than 1 billion 150 million hryvnias.

Therefore, he added that the recommendations should take into account real financial capabilities. He believes that the data obtained can be used to attract investment and grants, but this requires updating the regulatory framework and providing the company with an economically justified tariff.

«Planning is interesting. We know what planning is, I have three degrees. But we don't know what will happen tomorrow, whether there will be enough money for all this, whether there will be people. We can use this experience to attract investment and grants. There can be no loans in the heat and power sector, only grants, because there is no source of repayment. Secondly, all utilities have economically justified tariffs. We dream about it. But on paper, there should be a lot of money, but it will not be available because the tariff is twice as high as the one that is applied. People will not be able to pay. Therefore, our task is to reduce production costs as much as possible by using less gas and electricity. Automation is interesting, but it must be healthy. But money comes first. This is the mechanism you use to complete the task,» said Mykola Lohvinov.

He also noted that the experts did not visit production sites and did not see how automated boiler houses and modernised systems work. In his opinion, it is impossible to make a fair assessment without a visit to the enterprise.

«The most important thing is production. Your expert, unfortunately, did not see the heat production, boilers, automation, and how large boiler houses operate without staff. Because he lives in Kyiv and hasn't walked around Mykolaiv. Therefore, to make a fair and correct, objective assessment, because we are open, you need to come here and see it all. This can be used to get donors to give money. This is for the vision of Kuleba, ministers, deputy ministers, and the president. We are constantly on the verge of bankruptcy,» he added.

As you know, the Mykolaiv City Council presented the results of the Integrity Assessment of municipal enterprises «Mykolaivelectrotrans» and «Mykolaivoblteploenergo». However, the media did not provide the audit reports. A year ago, the international company «Deloitte», which is one of the four largest auditors in the world, presented the results of the integrity assessment of the utility company «Mykolaivvodokanal». However, the media immediately provided the auditors' reports.