Volgograd apartment building loses water, power, heat in deep freeze

While frost continues to grip Volgograd, and warmer weather is only promised by forecasters, a resident of a building in the Krasnooktyabrsky district shared her story of survival in the cold winter. According to Veronika, during the time when nighttime temperatures in the city reached -20°C (-4°F), building No. 107 on Lenin Avenue experienced several man-made catastrophes at once—loss of heating, disappearance of water, and power outage.

«Our building is an old Stalin-era house, although good, it heats poorly,» says Veronika. «First, our pipes burst, two days ten buildings were without water, including the «Tsaritsyn Opera.» No water delivery was organized, there was no interest: simply, for a whole day they couldn«t remove trees to access the pipe. Whenever we have an accident, slightly beyond the ordinary, everything, it paralyzes everyone.»

Water, of course, was restored, but right after that, another vital resource disappeared.

«Two days later, at night, the electricity went out in our building. The managing company couldn«t restore it in an emergency mode, and other organizations don»t work directly with residents—we«re only supposed to 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. We slept with two children under down jackets.»

Veronika emphasizes that for any issues and problems, residents knock on all sorts of authorities, but in response, they only get promises with long-term prospects or ignoring.

«I went to the administration of the Krasnooktyabrsky district, to the housing and utilities department. They said that everything is under control, everything will be done. In the managing company, they openly say they can«t influence this because they provide heat in full volume, and we should ask »Koncessii Teplosnabzheniya« (Heating Concessions). But »Heating Concessions« say that 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 don»t give heat.»

Due to the lack of heat, residents are massively using heaters, overloading the electrical networks. Responsibility for this, in Veronika«s opinion, lies with »Heating Concessions«.

«They come to measure the temperature in the apartment, which is heated by heaters. Without them, it wouldn«t even reach 17–18°C (63–64°F). I don»t want to sit and wait for them in an icy apartment until they come and take readings. But if they came to me when there«s no electricity… Although the networks can»t handle it even now. Everyone is sitting on heaters. This is systemic nonsense that will continue as long as «Heating Concessions» pretend that everything is fine. Maybe they«re afraid that pipes will burst. There must be some nuance—I understand it»s not just «malicious sabotage.» Maybe there«s no money, it»s unclear.»

Now, as Veronika tells, there is electricity, but with interruptions: to turn on the microwave, they have to turn off all heaters, and sitting without them is impossible due to the cold.

«This is not only a problem of our building. My child is now studying in school: there are three lessons a day because it«s cold. And everywhere it»s cold, and this is only at -15°C (5°F) during the day. I often travel to St. Petersburg, there frosts down to -30°C (-22°F), and even in old 19th-century houses there are no problems with heating. And us at -15°C (5°F)—everything, collapse. How to understand «cold is different for everyone»? There are established standards. I have a corner room, it should be not below +20°C (68°F), and it«s 5 degrees lower.»

At the same time, Veronika points out that for heating and light, they still have to pay, although the service, in her opinion, is not provided fully.

«First they promised to fix everything in spring, then—when it warms up. They also don«t want to be outside in the frost. And we»re sitting with electricity in the socket around 160–170 volts. We can«t turn on several appliances at once. In the bathroom, there»s almost no light. At the same time, for a three-room apartment, the payment is about 12,000 rubles (approximately $120 at current rates), if you add everything up. But the service isn«t actually provided fully.»

Meanwhile, let us remind that utility tariffs, including for heating, from the New Year were increased, and «Heating Concessions» consider cold a subjective concept and recall how bad everything was with the heating networks 20 years ago, assuring that the boiler house supplies the resource to subscribers of building No. 107 on Lenin Avenue in accordance with established parameters.

The editorial office of V1.RU is clarifying with JSC «Volgogradskie Mezhraionnye Electricheskie Seti» (Volgograd Interdistrict Electric Networks) the cause of power interruptions in the building at 107 Lenin Avenue.