‘Mykolaivvodokanal’ is hiring debt collectors to recover 1.24 million hryvnias from debtors
This is evidenced by procurement data published on the Prozorro system.
‘Mykolaivvodokanal’ is seeking a contractor to work with customers who are in arrears for water supply and sewerage services.
The company announced the tender on 22 June 2026. The estimated cost of the services is 1.24 million UAH.
Potential bidders may submit their tenders by 30 June 2026. The company plans to fund the debt collection agency’s work from its own resources.
How much debt they aim to recover
The projected amount of debt to be transferred to the debt collection agency is 6.2 million UAH.
In other words, the expected cost of the debt collection agency’s services is approximately one-fifth of the total debt that the water utility wishes to recover.
The tender documentation states that the contractor must provide evidence of experience in carrying out similar work.
What the debt collectors are expected to do
The future contractor’s task will be to encourage debtors to settle their debts voluntarily.
To this end, the plan is to send letters, claims and other notices to consumers demanding payment of their accumulated debts.
The debt will be considered reduced or settled if the customer transfers the funds directly to the ‘Mykolaivvodokanal’ account during the term of the contract or within one month of its expiry.
The company plans to transfer registers of subscribers with debts to a debt collection agency gradually, in several stages.
The documents do not yet specify exactly how many customers will be included on these lists, the amounts owed by individual customers, or the criteria the water utility will use to select debts for transfer to the contractor.
Total amount owed to the water utility
The amount planned to be transferred to the debt collection agencies is only a fraction of the total debt owed to the company.
As of 1 May 2026, consumers owed ‘Mykolaivvodokanal’ almost 258 million UAH.
The company had previously attributed the build-up of debts to the consequences of the war, the departure of some residents from Mykolaiv, and irregular payments for utility services.
The company’s current situation
The financial situation at ‘Mykolaivvodokanal’ remains difficult.
The financial plan for 2026 forecast losses of at least 665 million hryvnias. Rising costs of electricity, fuel and other expenses necessary for the operation of the water supply and sewerage system are placing additional pressure on the company.
It was also previously reported that the company is filing a large number of court cases seeking the enforced recovery of debts from consumers.
The decision to engage a debt collection agency may spark debate due to the ratio between the cost of the services and the amount of debt the company plans to recover.
To recover 6.2 million hryvnias, the company is prepared to pay 1.24 million hryvnias.
The actual effectiveness of this approach will only become clear once it is known how much money the debtors have actually repaid and how much has been spent on the contractor’s services.
In recent years, ‘Mykolaivvodokanal’ has regularly reported significant water debts among consumers.
The municipal utility operates amid a war, damaged infrastructure, high costs and substantial public debt. At the same time, the issue of engaging private debt collection agencies to deal with debtors for utility services could become a separate topic for public debate.
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