Utility companies and critical infrastructure operators have been empowered to be beneficiaries of humanitarian aid. This became possible following the entry into force of amendments (dated 18 December 2024) to Article 15 (Final and Transitional Provisions) of Law of Ukraine “On Humanitarian Aid” No. 1192 dated 22 October 1999, which expanded the list of recipients and/or beneficiaries of humanitarian aid. This was stated by Viktoriia Kopchak, Adviser on Decentralisation and Local Self-Government at the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Kherson Oblast and Member of the U-LEAD Working Group on Municipal Property Management.
“From now on, recipients of humanitarian aid can also be legal entities, regardless of their form of ownership, that provide utility services and are operators of critical infrastructure facilities that require urgent restoration and/or ensuring uninterrupted provision of utility services to consumers,” the adviser said.
According to her, such recipients and/or beneficiaries will not be subject to the restrictions set forth by Article 12.2.3 of the above Law of Ukraine. i.e. they are allowed to use humanitarian aid to make profit.
What exactly are utility services? Utility services mean services for the supply and distribution of natural gas, supply and distribution of electricity, heat supply, hot water supply, centralised water supply, centralised sewage and household waste management. This list is set out in Article 5 of Law of Ukraine “On Housing and Utility Services” No. 2198 dated 9 November 2017. This was clarified by Nataliia Liubchenko, Adviser on Municipal Finance and Management at the Regional Office of U-LEAD in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Member of the U-LEAD Working Group on Municipal Property Management.
Who are the operators of critical infrastructure facilities? The amendments also permit the receipt of humanitarian aid by the operators of critical infrastructure facilities. According to Nataliia Liubchenko’s explanation, a critical infrastructure operator is a legal entity of any form of ownership and/or an individual entrepreneur that manages a critical infrastructure facility on the basis of ownership, lease or other legal grounds and is responsible for its ongoing functioning.
“Critical infrastructure facilities mean infrastructure facilities, systems, their parts and their totality, which are important for the economy, national security and defence and the disruption of which may be detrimental to vital national interests (Law of Ukraine “On Critical Infrastructure” No. 1882 dated 16 November 2021),” said the adviser.
What do the new legislative changes mean for local self-government bodies? Only those business entities that provide public utilities and are operators of critical infrastructure facilities will be able to receive humanitarian aid and make a profit from it, summed up Viktoriia Kopchak.
