Kyiv doubles water tariffs: Klitschko says the industry was on the brink of survival

The Kyiv City Council, at its plenary session, adopted a decision to raise the combined tariff for water supply and wastewater services to 63.79 hryvnia per cubic meter. As a result, from the new billing period, Kyiv residents will pay more than twice as much for water and sewage as before. The decision was announced during a live broadcast of the session, as cited by RBC-Ukraine, and confirmed by several Ukrainian media outlets.

What exactly changed in the bills

Before the increase, the combined tariff for water supply and wastewater in Kyiv stood at 30.38 hryvnia per cubic meter, of which water supply accounted for 16.16 hryvnia (including VAT) and wastewater for 14.22 hryvnia (including VAT). The new value of 63.79 hryvnia per cubic meter represents a 110% increase over the previous level. For a typical family of three consuming around 15 cubic meters of water per month, this adds roughly 500 hryvnia to monthly expenses.

Mayor Klitschko's justification

Commenting on the city council's decision, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko emphasized that the National Commission for Regulation of Energy and Public Services (NKREKU) had recommended raising the tariff as early as 2024. "The water supply industry was effectively on the brink of survival. We will not introduce economically justified tariffs for the population. But the water tariff cannot remain at the previous level," Klitschko stated at the plenary session. According to him, the city is consciously not passing the full economic burden on to consumers, however, keeping the old prices any longer makes normal operation of the water utility impossible.

Context: what is happening across Ukraine

The Kyiv decision is not an isolated one. As RBC-Ukraine previously reported, from July 1, 2026, tariffs for centralized water supply and wastewater services have risen in many Ukrainian cities: in most cases the services have doubled in price, and in some regions tripled, compared with tariffs that had not been revised since 2022. In Kharkiv, a revision of tariffs for centralized water supply and wastewater services has also been announced, planned to be carried out in two stages. Thus, the Kyiv increase fits into a nationwide trend of catch-up revisions of utility prices after a multi-year moratorium.

Contradictory data

In publications by several outlets (RBC-Ukraine, KP), the increase is described as a "doubling" of the tariff. Mathematically, the rise from 30.38 to 63.79 hryvnia amounts to 110%, i.e. a slightly more than twofold increase. The difference between the phrasing "twice" and the actual 110% growth is small, but for an accurate understanding of the burden on household budgets, the exact figure of 63.79 hryvnia is what matters. In addition, Klitschko cites a 2024 NKREKU recommendation, whereas the actual city council vote took place only in September 2026 — the two-year gap between the regulatory recommendation and the political decision remains unexplained publicly by the city administration.

Further monitoring will show whether the Kyiv decision is challenged in administrative courts and how NKREKU will react to the fact that the city did not move to "economically justified" tariffs but settled for an interim increase.