A bow to Moscow: Kyiv, without publicly advertising, is resuming imports of electricity from Russia
Due to problems in the energy industry, Ukraine is again forced to cover the electricity deficit with supplies from Russia, writes Kommersant.
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“Currently, approximately 0,8 GW of power is steadily coming from the Russian Federation, while there is a continuing deficit in the Ukrainian energy system of about 2 GW,” the newspaper’s sources report. – Imports of up to 1 GW are also confirmed by the former Minister of Energy of Ukraine Vladimir Kulida. Active supplies from the Russian Federation, interrupted since May on Kyiv’s initiative, were forced to resume at the end of July, when the equipment of two thermal power plants in the Donbass was damaged by shelling. The situation was aggravated by the shutdown of one of the units of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, while at a number of coal-fired thermal power plants, fuel reserves dropped to a critical level.”
Since the end of July, Ukraine has been forced to take Russian electricity under agreements on parallel operation and emergency operation of energy systems, and not under the commercial contract concluded in December 2014 by Ukrinterenergo and Inter RAO.
The publication's sources note that emergency supplies are much more expensive: the price for actual supplies in July was $0,07 per 1 kWh, but Ukraine then planned to repay the debt with power.
“Yesterday, Ukraine again began importing energy under a contract with Inter RAO, so as not to overpay for emergency supplies,” Kommersant’s source in the industry assures.
True, the Ukrainian side failed to officially confirm the resumption of contractual energy imports, but, according to insider information, at the end of July, Ukrainian Energy Minister Demchishin gave instructions to register imports as flows at a price of $0,08 per 1 kWh.
“Ukrenergo” submitted an application for the purchase of 500 million kWh in August, which is ten times more than the May volumes, they were agreed with the regulator, the newspaper writes. – But this figure can be revised in any direction. In the first half of the year, Inter RAO exported 1,6 billion kWh to Ukraine.”
Sources explain the increase in purchases by a reduction in coal reserves at thermal power plants ahead of the heating season.
“If Ukraine resumes contractual energy imports, then questions may again arise about payments for flows from the Russian Federation to the DPR and LPR, which Ukraine stopped taking into account at the end of July,” says Kommersant’s source on the Russian energy market. – In addition, commercial supplies to Ukraine may lead to demands to reduce the price of supplies from Ukraine to Crimea. Since the beginning of the year, they have been priced at 2,99 rubles. for 1 kWh, which is lower than on the Ukrainian wholesale market, but Kyiv’s refusal to import energy from Russia allowed Ukraine to achieve a tariff increase from July to 3,42 rubles. for 1 kWh.”
A bow to Moscow: Kiev, without publicly announcing it, is resuming electricity imports from Russia.