While the city counts every hryvnia: "Mykolaiv Electrotrans" ordered cables at twice the market price
No competition and prices twice as high: questions raised about Mykolaiv Electric Transport's UAH 3.86 million procurement
Cables twice as expensive and contract awarded to a newcomer company
KP “Mykolaivelektrotrans” of the Mykolaiv City Council July 17, 2026 signed an agreement with LLC “Time-Elektroservis” for the supply of cables and wires with a total value of 3,863,206 UAH. The procurement information was published in the Prozorro system, reported by the publication “Nashi Hroshi”.
By the end of the year, dozens of types of cables and wires of Ukrainian and German origin are to be delivered to Mykolaiv. At the same time, the specific manufacturers of most products were not indicated in the specification.
Almost a third of the total contract amount — 1.18 mln UAH — is accounted for by Ukrainian flexible copper KGNV cables. In particular, the KGNV 1×50 mm cable was ordered at 1,029 UAH per meter, and the KGNV 1×95 mm at 1,559 UAH per meter.
For comparison, a large supplier “Ukrprovod” offered KGNV 1×50 mm in its June price list at 485 UAH per meter, i.e. more than twice cheaper. The KGNV 1×95 mm cable from this supplier cost 903 UAH per meter, which is approximately 1.7 times cheaper than the price in the “Mykolaivelektrotrans” contract.
Some items are more expensive by 2.5 times
The flexible copper cable KG 1×35 mm was ordered by the company at 850 UAH per meter. In the “Ukrprovod” price list, such a cable was offered at 342 UAH per meter, i.e. almost 2.5 times cheaper.
In addition, JSC “Ukrnafta” recently purchased an identical cable at 288 UAH per meter. Thus, the price in the Mykolaiv municipal company’s contract is almost three times higher than that purchase.
The power copper conductor PV-3 1×2.5 mm was ordered by “Mykolaivelektrotrans” at 49.14 UAH per meter. At “Ukrprovod” it cost 23.64 UAH per meter, i.e. more than twice cheaper.
KP “Elektroavtotrans” of the Sumy City Council purchased the same conductor at 32.96 UAH per meter, and KP “Dniprovskiy Elektrotransport” of the Dnipro City Council in May 2026 — at 26.28 UAH per meter. Thus, other municipal enterprises bought similar products roughly 1.5–2 times cheaper.
According to journalists’ calculations, if the cables and wires had been purchased at available market prices, expenses could have been at least 500,000 UAH lower.
HDMI cables at 1,149 and 2,205 UAH
Other significant discrepancies with open prices were also found in the specification.
For example, a multimedia HDMI cable 3 meters long was ordered at 1,149 UAH each, while a similar cable could be found in open sale at 199 UAH.
An HDMI cable 10 meters long costs 2,205 UAH under the contract, whereas open-source prices showed about 499 UAH.
The RG 59U 2×0.75 cable of German origin was ordered at 72 UAH per meter. In one online store it cost about 20 UAH per meter.
The specification also lists the conductor PVS 4×3 mm, which, according to the publication, is almost never mentioned in open sources. Among the items journalists called anomalous was also the ASBl-6 3×150 cable, ordered at 600 UAH per meter.
Contract signed without competition
The agreement with LLC “Time-Elektroservis” was concluded directly. Prior to that, “Mykolaivelektrotrans” announced open tenders, but no participant submitted a proposal.
To participate, a supplier had to provide a similar contract under code 44320000-9 “Cables and related products”, a positive review and delivery notes. Also, one of the documents confirming conformity with technical and quality characteristics was required for the products.
After the cancellation of the open tenders, the municipal enterprise obtained the right to conclude a direct contract with the supplier.
Delivery within 3 days, payment — within 10
Under the terms of the agreement, goods must be delivered within 3 working days after receiving a request from “Mykolaivelektrotrans”.
Payment is provided within 10 working days after the authorized representative of the enterprise signs the delivery note, and after receipt of a properly executed invoice and documents confirming the technical characteristics of the goods.
At the same time, the contract states that the customer may postpone payment for up to 30 days after the end of martial law. To do this, it must notify the supplier in writing no later than 10 days after receiving the necessary documents.
The municipal enterprise may also selectively send products from each batch for independent examination. If the examination confirms quality, the batch will be paid for. In case of a negative conclusion, the enterprise may refuse to pay for the goods and terminate the contract as not properly performed.
The warranty period for the products is 1 year. The performance security in the form of a deposit is set at 3% of the contract value — about 116,000 UAH.
The company was registered one month before receiving the contract
KP “Mykolaivelektrotrans” is headed by Yurii Smetana. The enterprise is subordinated to the Mykolaiv City Council; the mayor is Oleksandr Senkevych.
Mykolaiv LLC “Time-Elektroservis” was registered on June 16, 2026 — only a month before signing the contract. The contract with “Mykolaivelektrotrans” became the company’s first public-sector contract.
The owner and director of the company is Oleksandr Kovalenko. He also founded and leads LLC “Time-Elektro”, established in 2021.
The “Time-Elektro” website states that the company performs a full range of electrical installation works, and its portfolio includes 29 projects.
Since 2025, LLC “Time-Elektro” has received contracts exclusively in the Mykolaiv region totaling 13.78 mln UAH.
A related company is suing over million-hryvnia debts
According to the analytical system YouControl, as of the date of publication LLC “Time-Elektro” was a defendant in two court cases.
LLC “Energo Balans” demanded recovery from the company of 6.66 mln UAH, and LLC “Ivaservisyug” — another 645,000 UAH.
In both cases, the claims concern the enforcement of decisions of the Permanent Arbitral Tribunal at the Mykolaiv Professional Association “Arbitral Management of Legal Conflicts”.
Thus, the municipal enterprise concluded a contract for 3.86 mln UAH with a company that had existed for only about a month and had not previously received public contracts. Journalists found items in the contract whose prices were 1.5–2.5 times higher than offers from other suppliers and the cost of similar procurements.
| Product name, unit of measure | Quantity, pcs. | Amount, UAH with VAT | Price, UAH/unit with VAT | ||
| Contract | June price «Ukrprovod»* | Other sources | |||
| Cable KGNV 1×95 (m) | 200 | 311 726 | 1 559 | 903 | – |
| Cable KGNV 1×2.5 (m) | 500 | 19 290 | 39 | 30 | – |
| Cable KGNV 1×25 (m) | 250 | 113 952 | 456 | 246 | – |
| Cable KGNV 1×35 (m) | 300 | 219 316 | 731 | 339 | – |
| Cable KGNV 1×50 (m) | 500 | 514 488 | 1 029 | 485 | – |
| Cable KG 1×16 (m) | 100 | 24 490 | 245 | 161 | – |
| Cable KG 1×25 (m) | 100 | 60 863 | 609 | 250 | – |
| Cable KG 1×35 (m) | 300 | 254 938 | 850 | 342 | – |
| Cable KG 1×10 (m) | 150 | 36 734 | 245 | 110 | – |
| Cable ASBl-1 1×800 (m) | 600 | 56 448 | 94 | – | – |
| Cable ASBl-6 3×150 (m) | 300 | 180 000 | 600 | 3 124 | – |
| Conductor PVS 2×4 (m) | 100 | 12 698 | 127 | 82 | – |
| Conductor PVS 3×1.5 (m) | 500 | 34 314 | 69 | 47 | – |
| Conductor PVS 3×2.5 (m) | 250 | 27 138 | 109 | 74 | – |
| Conductor PVS 3×4 (m) | 100 | 16 836 | 168 | 128 | – |
| Conductor PVS 4×3 (m) | 300 | 42 775 | 143 | – | – |
| Conductor PVS 4×4 (m) | 200 | 45 341 | 227 | 160 | – |
| Conductor PVS 2×1.0 (m) | 500 | 17 340 | 35 | 24 | – |
| Conductor PVS 2×2.5 (m) | 700 | 53 290 | 76 | 54 | – |
| Conductor PVS 2×1.5 (m) | 200 | 9 710 | 49 | 35 | – |
| Conductor PVS 3×1.0 (m) | 100 | 4 730 | 47 | 35 | – |
| Conductor PVS 4×2.5 (m) | 200 | 28 517 | 143 | 100 | – |
| Conductor APV 16 (m) | 300 | 10 361 | 35 | 20 | – |
| Conductor PV 3 1×0.75 (m) | 200 | 2 573 | 13 | 8 | – |
| Conductor PV 3 1×1 (m) | 3 500 | 59 052 | 17 | 10 | – |
| Conductor PV 3 1×1.5 (m) | 4 660 | 114 412 | 25 | 15 | – |
| Conductor PV 3 1×2.5 (m) | 4 600 | 226 044 | 49 | 24 | – |
| Conductor PV-3 1×4 | 1 300 | 81 526 | 63 | 38 | – |
| Conductor PV-3 1×10 | 750 | 116 046 | 155 | 93 | – |
| Conductor PPSRVM-660 1×10 (m) | 300 | 51 293 | 171 | – | – |
| Conductor PPSRVM-660 1×25 (m) | 300 | 152 845 | 509 | – | 499 |
| Conductor PPSRVM-660 1×35 (m) | 300 | 187 142 | 624 | – | 508 |
| Cable AVVG 2×2.5 (m) | 700 | 11 634 | 17 | 13 | – |
| Cable AVVG 2×4 (m) | 500 | 12 564 | 25 | 17 | – |
| Cable AVVG 2×6 (m) | 200 | 6 638 | 33 | 21 | – |
| Cable AVVG 3×6 (m) | 150 | 6 786 | 45 | 28 | – |
| Cable AVVG 3×4 (m) | 200 | 6 562 | 33 | 22 | – |
| Cable AVVG 4×6 (m) | 200 | 11 558 | 58 | 37 | – |
| Cable AVVG 4×10 (m) | 200 | 17 983 | 90 | 57 | – |
| Cable AVVG 3×2.5 (m) | 300 | 7 070 | 24 | 17 | – |
| SIP conductor 4×25 (m) | 100 | 20 320 | 203 | 148 | – |
| SIP conductor 2×25 (m) | 100 | 10 760 | 108 | 80 | – |
| SIP conductor 4×16 (m) | 100 | 15 144 | 151 | 100 | – |
| SIP conductor 2×16 (m) | 100 | 7 291 | 73 | 54 | – |
| Cable for Bus systems CAN Unitronic BUS CAN 4x2x0.75 (m) | 100 | 47 772 | 478 | – | – |
| Cable for Bus systems CAN Unitronic BUS CAN 1x2x0.5 (m) | 100 | 24 239 | 242 | – | – |
| Conductor PETD-200 0.5 (kg) | 40 | 85 702 | 2 143 | – | 1 354 |
| Conductor PETD-200 0.315 (kg) | 20 | 42 851 | 2 143 | – | 1 354 |
| Conductor PPSRVM-3000 1×35 (m) | 300 | 180 792 | 603 | – | 508 |
| Conductor PPSRVM-3000 1×10 (m) | 200 | 27 816 | 139 | – | 121 |
| Outdoor network cable U/UTP Cat.5e 4Pr Outdoor (Germany) (reel 305 m) | 5 | 11 025 | 2 205 | – | – |
| Outdoor network cable with rope U/UTP Cat.5e 4Pr Outdoor FG-8 (Germany) (reel 305 m) | 5 | 11 025 | 2 205 | – | – |
| Multimedia HDMI cable M to HDMI M 3.0m V2.0 Vinga 3 m (Germany) (pcs) | 11 | 12 637 | 1 149 | – | 199 |
| Multimedia HDMI cable M to HDMI M 10.0m V2.0 Vinga 10 m (Germany) (pcs) | 5 | 11 025 | 2 205 | – | 499 |
| Gray shielded cable 4*1 mm LAPP OLFLEX CLASSIC 115 CY 4G1 (Germany) (m) | 500 | 158 892 | 318 | – | 229 |
| Cable RG 59U 2*0.75 (Germany) (m) | 400 | 28 891 | 72 | – | 20 |
| Total: | – | 3 863 206 | – | – | – |
* Instead of the SIP conductor, a better analogue AsXSn from the price list was used
Earlier we wrote:
- Trams were running, money was flowing: investigators took up multi-million contracts of electric transport
- Mykolaiv electric transport in 2026 will cost the city almost 800 mln UAH
- Transport under the magnifying glass: KPIs approved for “Mykolaivelektrotrans” and “Mykolaivpastrans”
- City council will pay KP “Mykolaivelektrotrans” 440 million UAH for passenger transportation
