Photo from UNIAN
On November 6, the Luhansk energy association is going to de-energize the Petrivska pumping station (water intake) of the Popasna water service company, which supplies water to residents in uncontrolled areas in Luhansk region, and in particular, the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk, according to the Ukrainian news outlet Cenzor.net.
The reason for de-energizing is the water service company's debt, which is almost UAH 157 million, or US$5.8 million, as of November 6 and is constantly growing. At the same time, the backlog was accumulated due to the debts of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic ("LPR"), as 90% of the water supplied by the water service company is delivered to the uncontrolled territory.
It should be noted that the Popasna water service company's debts are constantly growing despite reports that since the beginning of 2017, members of the "LPR" terrorist organization have begun to pay for water consumption – the latest of such reports came when cash payment was handed over to a Ukrainian representative under the OSCE's supervision on the bridge in the town of Schastia. In October, the water service company consumed electricity worth UAH 9.156 million, while it paid only UAH 7.805 million.
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It should be noted that the water to the uncontrolled territory of Luhansk region was supplied even before the creation of the Popasna water service company in the summer of 2015, and accordingly, the electricity was consumed. But the Luhanskvoda water utility company was still operating at that time, which was later liquidated in the Ukrainian-controlled area of Luhansk region, but its debts for electricity remained.