KYIV (Reuters) -- The main electricity and heat supplier in the Ukrainian capital said it had started using oil to compensate for falling gas supplies, and residents reported a drop in temperature in their apartments.
It was not immediately clear whether gas deliveries fell because of a dispute with Russia, which has cut all supplies to Ukraine, or a long-standing local dispute over unpaid bills.
Some residents said temperatures in their apartments had fallen noticeably. The temperature in Kyiv was about minus 8 degrees Celsius on January 8, warmer than the day before when temperatures fell to lower than minus 20.
Ukrainian towns and cities are heated by central utilities which pipe hot water into flats and houses.
"We are able to keep the water temperature at 64 to 68 degrees Celsius by using fuel oil, the reserves of which are intended for emergency situations," Kyivenergo said in a statement.
Kyivenergo said gas supplies started falling on January 6 and that on January 7 its facilities had received 225,000 cubic meters of gas. It did not give figures for previous days or how much it usually gets.
It was not immediately clear whether gas deliveries fell because of a dispute with Russia, which has cut all supplies to Ukraine, or a long-standing local dispute over unpaid bills.
Some residents said temperatures in their apartments had fallen noticeably. The temperature in Kyiv was about minus 8 degrees Celsius on January 8, warmer than the day before when temperatures fell to lower than minus 20.
Ukrainian towns and cities are heated by central utilities which pipe hot water into flats and houses.
"We are able to keep the water temperature at 64 to 68 degrees Celsius by using fuel oil, the reserves of which are intended for emergency situations," Kyivenergo said in a statement.
Kyivenergo said gas supplies started falling on January 6 and that on January 7 its facilities had received 225,000 cubic meters of gas. It did not give figures for previous days or how much it usually gets.