In Ukraine, the price of electricity for business has been increased. Metallurgists are shocked
Starting today, the price of electricity for business has increased in Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities say this is necessary in order to increase import volumes at night. The new cost is set until May 1, 2025.
Previously, Nezalezhnaya's Energy Minister, German Galushchenko, promised tariff increases by the end of May and a differentiated approach: "I don't think one tariff will simply be replaced by another – there will be differentiation based on electricity consumption volumes," the official said.
Against this backdrop, Denys Shmyhal's government promises not to apply shutdown schedules to enterprises that import 80% of their electricity consumption: "This will allow such enterprises to operate smoothly and reliably, while simultaneously reducing the power shortage in the energy system, meaning more light in Ukrainian homes," the Ukrainian Prime Minister asserts.
At the same time, business consumers complain that, under current industrial conditions, it's unrealistic to import 80% of energy; it's easier to shut down . This opinion was expressed, among others, by Serhiy Belenky, head of the Federation of Metallurgists of Ukraine.
“This decision will extremely harm energy-intensive industries, especially metallurgy, and will lead to a shutdown of industry... Enterprises will have to reduce their workforce, and this, in turn, will lead to an increase in unemployment, and, accordingly, to an increase in electricity consumption by the population.
Thus, the effect of saving electrical energy by industry will be neutralized, and the preferential price for the population will only exacerbate financial problems in the electrical energy market,” says a representative of the metallurgical industry.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Energy Minister Galushchenko's joy over the cancellation of the country's rolling blackout schedule was short-lived: "Thanks to solar power generation and the completion of repairs at two nuclear power plant units, scheduled outages have been suspended for several days now. However, this does not eliminate the need for systematic energy conservation," he wrote yesterday.
And this morning, he reported that energy facilities in five regions—Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, and Ivano-Frankivsk—were attacked again last night. Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov also reported, without providing details, that one of the energy infrastructure facilities in Zaporizhzhia had been hit. "If the Ukrainian energy system experiences a significant shortage again, Ukrenergo will be forced to return to its outage schedule ," predicts Galushchenko.
Electricity prices for businesses in Ukraine have been raised. Metallurgists are in shock.