Economics of Housing and Communal Services

BUSINESS INFORM №5-2021

Andrenko O. A., Gavrylychenko I. V.
The Theoretical and Methodological Principles of the Formation of a Mechanism of Financial Monitoring of Housing and Communal Enterprises (p. 266 - 272)
The article carries out a study of theoretical and methodological principles of the formation of a universal and effective mechanism of financial monitoring, the main direction of which is towards increasing the efficiency of functioning of housing and communal enterprises of Ukraine. It is identified that in the conditions of the financial and economic crisis, the problems of adapting the activities of housing and communal enterprises to changes in the socio-economic situation in the country, which is the most important factor of their sustainable development, are becoming especially significant. Scientific opinions on the definition of the category of «financial monitoring» are generalized. The authors’ own closer definition of this concept is presented. The category of «financial monitoring» is examined from the viewpoint of three approaches: process, managerial, and structural. An improved mechanism of financial monitoring of housing and communal enterprises is formed, which is represented by a set of instruments, means and methods of organizing activities for the regular collection of actual information on controlled indicators, its analysis, development of recommendations for making managerial decisions with the subsequent evaluation of their efficiency, as well as forecasting further dynamics. It is proved that the problems analyzed in the article, which can become a threat to the effective functioning of the formed mechanism, can be solved by the creation of a single financial monitoring service within the financial and economic unit of housing and communal enterprises. The implementation of the principles of this service will create motivation to increase the number of monitoring participants by establishing stable feedback between housing and communal enterprises and relevant monitoring services.

Article is written in Ukrainian

BUSINESS INFORM №8-2021

Kyzym M. O., Kotliarov Y. I., Khaustova V. Y.
Analyzing the Tendencies in the Development of Centralized Heat Supply in Ukraine (p. 68 - 81)
The article is aimed at defining the main tendencies in the development of centralized heat supply in Ukraine. Objective prerequisites for the use of centralized heating sources, as well as levels of development of heat supply systems of settlements are identified. It is determined that the development of heat supply systems largely depends on climatic conditions and the climatic characteristics of certain cities of Ukraine are considered. The main stages of construction of district heating systems in localities of Ukraine are formed. Types of heat supply of cities of Ukraine are identified. The genesis of development of heat generation and heat supply processes in Ukraine is researched. The peculiarities of formation of the national legislative framework for regulation of issues on production and consumption of heat energy are analyzed. The provisions of the Concept for the implementation of the State policy in the sphere of heat supply are analyzed. Based on the carried out analysis, it is determined the following: firstly, the imbalance of financial capabilities and needs for financing investment projects of heat supplying enterprises, as well as a shortage of investment resources, which requires careful substantiation of investment programs, directions and order of modernization and reconstruction of available capacities; secondly, shifting the focus to the powers of local authorities (through decentralization of public administration), which received broad powers to license and set tariffs for heat energy, but at the same time received a wider range of obligations to maintain heat supply systems in working condition; thirdly, the lack of medium- and long-term planning for the development of heat supply systems in localities, which largely explains the current state of the heat supply sector. It is substantiated that such features of the current state of heat supply in Ukraine require the development of new approaches to planning and implementation of works on organizational-technological modernization of heat supply in conditions of limited financial resources.

Article is written in Ukrainian

BUSINESS INFORM №9-2021

Kyzym M. O., Kotliarov Y. I., Khaustova V. Y.
Analyzing the Centralized Heat Provision of Large Localities in Ukraine and Countries of the World (p. 96 - 107)
The presented research is aimed at defining the features of organizing the centralized heat provision of large localities in Ukraine and countries of the world. Within the terms of the set aim, the article considers the characteristics of the main heat supply organizations of large cities of Ukraine, the major regional and municipal programs that are effective in them, and the characteristic features of heat supply; the main problems of centralized heat supply in these localities. It is noted that Ukraine displays one of the world’s highest saturation of cities with heat networks: the total length of heat pipelines is approximately 47 thousand km in terms of two-pipe calculation. The share of centralized heating in the total structure of heat supply in Ukraine comprises about 42%. The centralized heat supply system is provided for approximately 60% of the total area, hot water supply – more than 40% of the total area of the country’s housing stock. On the basis of consideration of heat supply systems in several large cities of Ukraine, the general features of their district heating systems are identified. The experience of building a heat supply system in separated countries of the world (Russia, China, Denmark, Finland, USA, Canada, etc.) is analyzed. The scale of district heating systems in the researched world countries is considered. Modern trends in the development of district heating systems in Europe are studied and differences between Ukrainian district heating systems, including in terms of powers of local authorities in the field of heat supply, are determined. It is specified that local authorities in Ukraine are practically deprived of powers to regulate the development of CHP plants and capacities operating on renewable energy sources, which in developed countries is a priority for the development of centralized heat supply.

Article is written in Ukrainian

BUSINESS INFORM №1-2022

Bubenko P. T., Bubenko O. P.
The Innovative Component of Reforming the Housing and Communal Services Enterprises (p. 267 - 273)
The article states that the systemic modernization and innovative development of enterprises in the field of housing and communal services is an integral part of the reform of the entire socioeconomic complex of the country, which has an extensive structure of the constituent elements, and in the reform process are involved mainly technical, technological, organizational and economic factors of influence. The conceptual apparatus of modernization processes and further innovative development is improved, in particular, the definition of the concept of «systemic modernization», which allows to include in its composition the structure, processes and the very conditions of qualitative transformations of housing and communal services enterprises. The scientific components of the systemic idea of housing and communal services as an object of reform, which has an economic and spatial organization, is characterized by a stable market of consumers, the closed production cycle and close ties with the territorial infrastructure, which, in turn, creates prerequisites for the formation of an integrated mechanism for the cluster interaction of sub-sectors of housing and communal services in the model of the national innovation system. It is proved that the monopoly form of production, which is inherent in most enterprises in the housing and communal services sector, is a phenomenon with significant contradictions that are formed in society, in the market and in the innovation sphere. These contradictions can be resolved only in two ways – by the governmental regulation of the activities of a natural monopoly or by the development of market relations and competition. Therefore, the system of the governmental regulation of natural monopolies requires significant improvement. The renewal of theoretical views does not dispose real monopolies. And as long as they really exist, the task of governmental regulation of the natural monopoly remains relevant, and also extremely difficult. It consists in stimulating enterprises to produce a larger volume of products with lower costs, while refusing (full or partial) from establishing monopoly prices and monopoly status. On the other hand, the State supports the trends in the development of a competitive environment. Thus, it is concluded that governmental regulation, on the one hand, and the introduction of competitive conditions for the management of housing and communal services enterprises on the other hand, are an urgent requirement of time, and this should take place in various forms and on the basis of a systemic scientific analysis of socioeconomic factors of the usefulness of services for the population.

Article is written in Ukrainian

BUSINESS INFORM №7-2022

Biletskyi I. V.
Key Characteristics and Structure of the Residential Real Estate Market in the Current Conditions (p. 149 - 154)
The article examines the factors influencing the functioning of the residential real estate sector, the real estate market situation, the competitive situation, and the investment attractiveness of the sector. It is emphasized that the role of residential real estate performs several functions in society, in particular, it satisfies the need for housing, is an object of economic activity, and acts as a mechanism in the implementation of the social policy of the State. The main stages of the formation of the strategy for the development of the residential real estate segment are allocated, it is worth taking into account the behavior patterns and requests of potential customers, in particular: the segmentation of the primary residential real estate market; identification of factors affecting consumer behavior; modeling the process of making a purchase decision: awareness of needs; assessment of financial opportunities; collection and analysis of information; assessment and selection of real estate options; the decision to purchase property; conclusion of an agreement. It is determined that it is expedient to introduce civilized relations between real estate market participants, which is possible by promoting the implementation of legislative initiatives aimed at introducing a housing construction financing model using escrow accounts and ensuring the guarantee of investors' rights regarding real estate objects, which are under construction. The own structure of the residential real estate market and participants in the market process are proposed, according to which the activity of regional markets, which are divided into primary and secondary markets, are indicators of the activity of national residential real estate markets. The subjects of the primary market are investors, creditors, designers, builders, developers, project organizations, construction companies or organizations; concerning the secondary market - realtors, brokers, appraisers, sellers, tenants. In addition, groups of market participants are allocated, in particular group 1 – professional participants working on a commercial basis; group 2 – analysts on the residential real estate market; group 3 – insurance companies, notary offices, law firms, mortgage banks, land resources fund, property rights registration bodies, real estate assessment agencies, technical inventory bodies, judicial bodies.

Article is written in Ukrainian

BUSINESS INFORM №12-2022

Kyzym M. O., Kotliarov Y. I.
Individual Measures for Thermal Modernization of Residential Buildings: An Economic Assessment, the Sequence of Implementation (p. 202 - 213)
The purpose of the article is to analyze individual measures for the thermal modernization of buildings and determine the sequence of the implementation of such measures, allowing to obtain results in the shortest possible time with the maximum possible result. The actual state of the housing stock of Ukrainian settlements in the pre-war period did not meet the EU requirements for energy efficiency. After massive damage to residential buildings as result of russian aggression, their restoration becomes an urgent task. The article proposes to restore the settlements of Ukraine that suffered from the armed russian aggression by performing repair work with simultaneous thermal modernization of residential buildings. The content of the concepts of «traditional and deep thermal modernization of residential buildings» is examined and it is proposed to focus on traditional modernization, which involves a set of works on replacing windows and doors with energy-efficient ones, insulation of enclosing building structures (facades, basement, roof and basement floors), thermal modernization of engineering heating systems and hot heat supply (thermal insulation of intra-house pipelines, installation of individual heat points, balancing of heating systems, installation of apartment thermostats), as well as installation of individual ventilation devices with the possibility of heat recovery. On a conditional example, two options for performing works on mass thermal modernization in conditions of scarcity of investment resources are considered: the first is the implementation of works on thermal modernization of individual houses «turnkey»; the second is the implementation in all houses of only those measures that have the shortest payback periods and the implementation of which provides the best energy savings. A computing with use of a conditional example showed that the second option allows saving energy resources by 35% more than in the first option. According to the results of the study, the following sequence of thermal modernization works is proposed: priority measures (replacement of windows and doors), modernization of engineering heating systems, installation of individual ventilation systems, insulation of enclosing structures.

Article is written in Ukrainian

BUSINESS INFORM №1-2023

Dymchenko O. V., Smachylo V. V., Rudachenko O. O., Khailo Y. M.
The Problems and Prospects of the Post-War Development of Enterprises in the Sphere of Urban Life Provision, Taking into Account the Entrepreneurial Component (p. 108 - 115)
The publication defines the components of a characterization of the life provision system, its importance and impact on the quality of life of the population, the level of socioeconomic development of cities, regions, and the country. The essence of the sphere of urban life provision and its components, within terms of which subjects of various forms of ownership, size and types of economic activity operate, are characterized. The components of the characterization of the life provision system as a subject of research reflect various contradictions of its functioning: it is an object of both spatial economy (regional structure and scales) and industry specifics (multifunctional complex – housing, transport, water supply, etc.), which provides services to the population and enterprises. Thus, life provision enterprises operate according to special technologies inherent in each individual industry (water supply – physicochemical processes; energy and heat supply – heat generation, heat exchange, transportation technologies; residential sector – repair, construction, plumbing works, etc.). Urban economic systems work to maintain the lives of residents at a quality level. These systems represent a large, diversified and extensive infrastructure of institutions and enterprises. It is determined that the sphere of urban life provision is provided by the activities of enterprises of various forms of ownership, operating according to different types of economic activity. Their activities, as well as the activities of other economic entities, are influenced by russia’s military actions on the territory of Ukraine, which caused challenges that entrepreneurs of the world have not faced yet. It is proved that enterprises in the sphere of urban life provision expect post-war transformations, which will be expressed in the refusal of people to use centralized services of electricity, gas, heat, water supply, that is, there will be an increase in the level of individualization. As a result of the carried out analysis, the problems faced by life provision enterprises are identified. The directions of post-war transformation of the components of the sphere of urban life provision and their effects regarding the quality of life of the population and the development of entrepreneurship in Ukraine are substantiated.

Article is written in Ukrainian

BUSINESS INFORM №4-2023

Dymchenko O. V., Smachylo V. V., Rudachenko O. O., Khailo Y. M.
Regional Clustering with Account of the Urban Life Support Enterprises (p. 41 - 46)
The publication examines the problems of housing and communal services, which consist in the unprofitable operation of housing and communal services enterprises, significant amounts of receivables and payables, outdated equipment and lack of finance for their modernization, etc. Potential participants and directions of socioeconomic development in the form of a «Regional Cluster of Urban Life Support Enterprises» are formed. The authors propose to integrate urban life support enterprises into a corporation of utilities of water supply, sewerage and heat supply, which will consist of combining: the enterprises from other sectors; the areas of intellectual development, the enterprises for diversification of services; the regional water refinement complexes; the grouped water supply enterprises; and a municipal information and analytical enterprise. It is noted that in the developed countries of the European Union there is a significant number (more than 2 thousand) of quite similar clusters, and up to 100 countries have programs for creating clusters today. Strategic ways for further work on the formation of such cluster formations for urban life support enterprises of Ukrainian cities have been elaborated. These include: 1. Identification of strategic directions of reform and development. 2. Innovative development of management processes. 3. Innovative development of management technology. 4. Innovative development of the enterprise management system. 5. Development of methods of information and analytical support of enterprise management. 6. Proposal of innovative methods and measures for diversification and integration of activities. 7. Proposal of restructuring models. 8. Proposal of models of the public-private reform. 9. Proposal of models of socioeconomic and intellectual clusters as a strategy for innovative development of both the enterprise and the region. 10. Proposal of individual innovative projects (measures) in the sphere of production and commerce to improve financial and economic sustainability and production-economic reliability.

Article is written in Ukrainian

BUSINESS INFORM №7-2023

Bagatska K. V., Klymash N. I.
Financial Aspects of Ensuring the Security of Communal Enterprises under Martial Law (p. 120 - 127)
The scientific study identified the importance of the activities of communal enterprises to provide the necessary services to individuals and legal entities in settlements. The article examines the issues of analysis of capital formation of communal enterprises and pays attention to the development of a system of indicators for assessing the efficiency of capital provision of enterprises in this sphere. It is determined that domestic enterprises generally have a small amount of equity. This circumstance is due to the formation of the prevailing amount of borrowed capital and growing dependence on external creditors. However, this trend is not always inherent in domestic enterprises. For example, the capital city’s enterprises in the field of improvement, school meals and the provision of services have the most risky capital structure. At such enterprises, the average financial risk index ranges from 2.41 to 3.35, which is evidence of a significant share of borrowed capital in the capital structure. This publication outlines the reasons for the low share of capitalized profit. Among the existing reasons can be highlighted the following: low profitability compared to investments in the development of the enterprise; high costs, both production and administrative; low performance of activities, which may be results of consequences of military aggression on the part of the Russian Federation, rising energy costs, depreciation of the national currency. The authors do not support the thesis on returning to the depreciation fund, but substantiate the position on the development of a depreciation policy at each communal enterprise, which would not only declare the methods of calculating depreciation, but also determine the directions of effective use of incoming cash flows from depreciation. Thus, domestic communal enterprises should have sufficient financial resources for the repair and maintenance of fixed assets, allowing to provide high-quality, qualified services and necessary goods to community residents.

Article is written in Ukrainian

BUSINESS INFORM №5-2024

Kozyk V. V., Marushchak U. D., Marko O. Y.
Assessment of Energy Efficiency in the Life Cycle of Residential Building Objects (p. 201 - 207)
Buildings consume significant amounts of energy and resources at all stages of their life cycle, causing a huge impact on the environment. Life cycle energy analysis is a holistic approach to assessing the design energy efficiency of buildings. Although new construction involves the energy-efficient, sustainable buildings, the energy demand in the construction sector will increase due to the ever-increasing demand for housing. Therefore, housing construction has significant potential for energy saving and potential for further research. The aim of the article is an energy analysis of the life cycle of buildings to formulate a strategic framework for reducing the energy footprint of the construction sector. The article examines energy-efficient solutions at the stage of selection of building systems for the construction of external wall structures. The evaluation criteria were the indicators of heat transfer resistance, embodied energy and carbon dioxide emissions from the production of building materials. It is shown that in terms of thermal and technical indicators, structures with facade thermal insulation meet the requirements of the current legislation. Comparison of embodied energy indicators showed that for a wall structure made of solid bricks, this figure is 2.0–2.7 times higher than for walls using energy-efficient building materials, which is due to the high density of ceramic bricks and significant energy consumption for their firing. For aerated concrete walls, the value of embodied energy is 769 and 1019 MJ, and the embodied carbon dioxide value is 54 and 69 kg/m2 when using expanded polystyrene and mineral wool, respectively. Life cycle energy assessment provides a strategic framework for reducing energy demand in the construction sector for practical implementation by developers. Prospects for further research in this direction are to determine the embodied energy of the proposed solutions, taking into account the durability of building materials.

Article is written in Ukrainian

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