Moscow Region towns lose heating ahead of deep freeze

Severe frosts are expected in Moscow and the region this weekend, while some residents of the Moscow Region are left without heating. On Friday, January 23, residents of Podolsk complained about a mass hot water outage. The city administration told MSK1.RU that before the cold weather set in, specialists were repairing heat sources for safety reasons, so water supply was restricted on several streets.

We tell you which cities have failing pipes, why they burst in winter, and what is wrong with the heating system in the Moscow Region.

Where else people froze in January

A utility accident occurred in Chekhov on January 17. The city set up warming centers, placed heat guns in apartment building entrances, and brought heaters to some apartments. District head Mikhail Sobakin personally went to check on the heating system repairs, and supply was generally restored, but not everywhere yet.

A local resident, Yekaterina, complains to MSK1.RU that in her building on Druzhby Street, heating in apartments was turned on only on the sixth day, and the radiators in the entrance are still cold.

«Some in the city are still without heating, water and electricity are periodically cut off, basements are flooded,» states a Chekhov resident.

She is not alone; on January 23, the following comments were left under Sobakin«s Telegram posts:

— I see my questions are being ignored! When will there be normal heat supply? Druzhby Street.

— Hello! There is still no heating on Druzhby Street. <…> The room is like an icebox, we«ve called everywhere, managed to get through twice, two requests were accepted, but no one comes. It»s all useless. They promise minus 25°C (minus 13°F) tomorrow.

— We still have no heating in our apartments (throughout the entire riser) on Lopasnenskaya Street since January 17. <…> Urgently take measures so pipes don«t burst in the night frosts. Think about the people.

Townspeople say heating problems have lasted for years, and the city prosecutor«s office has even launched an inspection. According to its data, residents of 101 apartment buildings, as well as healthcare organizations, were left without heating and hot water on January 17. The agency is monitoring the restoration of water supply.

District head Mikhail Sobakin promised that residents« utility bills would be recalculated. He explained the disruptions by significant wear and tear on utility networks and boiler houses, reminding people about the modernization of heating facilities.

«The implementation of the second stage has already begun. <…> Our ultimate task is to get a new, modern heating system in the district,» Sobakin wrote on Telegram.

Heating disruptions have also been occurring in Domodedovo since January 17. On January 19, an accident happened at the Konstantinovo gas processing plant boiler house. Specialists immediately began repairs, but residents had time to get very cold, and school hours were even shortened. Heat supply disruptions occurred on Stroitelnaya, Shkolnaya, Zelenaya, Sovetskaya, Yuzhnaya, Moskovskaya, Tsentralnaya, Tereshkovoy, Sadovaya streets, and on Domodedovskoye Highway.

Head of the Domodedovo city district Yevgenia Khristaleva visited the boiler house together with the deputy minister of energy of the Moscow Region and promised to keep the situation under control until heat supply is fully restored.

In Khimki, problems started at the very beginning of the year. The city administration reported repairs at a district heating station on January 1, and since then hot water and heat supply have been restricted daily on different streets.

Residents of Krasnogorsk were also unlucky—radiators were turned off there since early January. Complaints spread in the media on the 20th, when a leak on a main heating network left eight thousand residents temporarily without hot water. The administration regularly reports on the restoration of heat supply at various addresses.

Problems continue in Balashikha as well. As follows from the city administration«s messages, disruptions in heat supply to residential buildings, schools, and other social facilities occurred almost every day in January.

Why accidents happen every winter

The main reason for breakdowns on heating networks is their wear and tear. According to 2024 data from Rosstat (the Russian Federal State Statistics Service) reviewed by MSK1.RU, over 50,000 km of heating mains in the country need replacement—about 30%. The situation is better in one region, worse in another.

Chair of the State Duma commission on ensuring citizens« housing rights, Galina Khovanskaya, told MSK1.RU that the quality of infrastructure depends on funding and the professionalism of the people responsible. She emphasized that the pipe problem exists across Russia.

«Modernization programs exist at the federal level, quite serious money has been allocated for infrastructure. But you understand, when problems have accumulated over decades, they cannot be solved in a year or even five years,» the deputy added.

In turn, the governor of the Moscow Region promises a large-scale modernization of the heating system. According to Andrey Vorobyov, 425 facilities and 258 km of heating networks will be put in order in 2026—this will improve life for 2.1 million residents.

Meanwhile, due to the approaching cold, Moscow has started heating radiators more. Deputy Mayor of Moscow Pyotr Biryukov warns of frosts down to minus 28°C (minus 18°F).