13 April, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. A phased shutdown of heating has commenced in the Vitebsk region, Anatoly Sudak, Head of the Production and Technical Department of the Housing and Communal Services Directorate of the Regional Executive Committee, informed a BELTA correspondent. According to him, the operational group for the optimisation of heat supply of the Regional Executive Committee has decided to disconnect the heating systems of industrial and administrative buildings, and socio-cultural facilities from today. The phased shutdown of heating in residential properties will begin in the northern region of the country on 16 April. Meanwhile, the decision on the completion of the heating season in kindergartens and healthcare institutions will be made at the discretion of the heads of these institutions. Anatoly Sudak also spoke about the tasks to be carried out in the housing and communal services system during the upcoming inter-heating season. Thus, it is planned to replace 110 km of heating networks in the region, commission 32 MW of boiler heat capacity with mechanised loading in Beshenkovichi and Polotsk districts, Orsha, Liozno, Vitebsk and Polotsk, and procure 320 thousand dense cubic meters of firewood and 60 thousand dense cubic meters of wood chips. By order of the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, the transfer of boiler houses of the Education Department of the Regional Executive Committee to the balance of housing and communal services will begin (it is planned to transfer all 160 heat sources in 2012-2013). In total, over 500 heat sources will need to be prepared for the new heating period. -0-

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