Volgograd Apartment Building Left Without Utilities During Cold Snap

During abnormal frosts in Volgograd, when nighttime temperatures reached -20°C (-4°F), residents of building No. 107 on Lenin Avenue experienced several utility failures. The building sequentially lost water supply, electricity, and heating.

Resident Veronika reported that the first problem was with the water pipes.

First, our pipes burst, and ten buildings, including the Tsaritsyn Opera, were without water for two days. No water delivery was organized, and there was no interest; they couldn«t even clear trees for a whole day to access the pipe. Whenever we have an accident that»s slightly out of the ordinary, it just stuns everyone,

After water was restored, the building experienced a power outage.

Two days later, at night, the electricity went out in our building. The management company couldn«t restore it on an emergency basis, and other organizations don»t work directly with residents—we can only contact the management company. And here, it«s a matter of luck. In short, they left us at night without light and with heating at +15°C (59°F) in the apartments. My two children and I slept under down jackets,

According to the resident, appeals to various authorities yield no real results.

I went to the administration of the Krasnooktyabrsky District, to the housing and utilities department. They said everything is under control, they«ll do everything. The management company openly says they can»t influence this because they provide heat in full, and we should ask «Concessions.» But «Concessions» say everything is fine and there are no problems. That«s where it ends. I»m not some investigator to figure out at which stage they«re not providing heat,

The lack of central heating forces residents to actively use heaters, leading to overloading of the electrical grids. Veronika pointed out the imperfection of the temperature measurement procedure:

They come to measure the temperature in an apartment that«s heated by heaters. Without them, it wouldn»t even reach 17–18 degrees. I don«t want to sit and wait for them in a freezing apartment until they come and take readings. But if they came to me when there»s no electricity... Although the grids can«t handle it now. Everyone is relying on heaters. This is systemic nonsense that will continue as long as »Concessions« pretend everything is perfect. Maybe they»re afraid the pipes will burst. There must be some nuance—I understand it«s not just »malicious sabotage.« Maybe there»s no money, it«s unclear.

Currently, the electricity supply in the building is unstable, with network voltage at 160–170 volts.

We can«t turn on several appliances at once. There»s almost no light in the bathroom. At the same time, for a three-room apartment, the payment is about 12,000 rubles (approximately $130 at current rates), if you add everything up. But in fact, there«s no full service,

Veronika made a comparison with other regions:

This isn«t just a problem with our building. My child is in school now: they have only three lessons a day because it»s cold. And everywhere is cold, and this is only at -15°C (5°F) during the day. I often travel to St. Petersburg, where frosts reach -30°C (-22°F), and even in old 19th-century houses, there are no heating problems. But for us at -15°C—that«s it, collapse. How to understand »cold is subjective for everyone«? There are established norms. I have a corner room, and it should be no lower than +20°C (68°F), but it»s 5 degrees lower.

Since the beginning of the new year, tariffs for housing and communal services have increased in Volgograd. In the company «Concessions of Heat Supply,» they stated that cold is a subjective concept and noted an improvement in the condition of heating networks over the past 20 years. Representatives of the organization assure that the boiler house supplies heat to building No. 107 on Lenin Avenue in full compliance with standards.

The causes of electricity interruptions in the specified building are being investigated by specialists of JSC «Volgograd Interdistrict Electric Networks.»