The OKKO network in 2021 invested more than UAH 25 million in arranging solar panels at its filling stations, the company’s press service said.
According to its data, thanks to this they were installed at 50 more filling stations of the company, in total there are already 63 such complexes. In particular, in Lviv region – 15, in total in Kyiv region and the capital – 15, in Odesa and Zakarpattia regions – 5 in each.
In 2022, OKKO plans to continue equipping its filling stations with solar panels.
The total design solar capacities of OKKO are currently about 1.4 MW. The volumes of electricity that they are able to generate per year make it possible to save more than 1,000 tonnes of standard fuel from non-renewable sources.
The press service clarifies that the generated electricity is used to cover the filling stations’ own needs in energy resources. In summer months, their capacity is sufficient for a medium-sized filling complex to be able to fully provide itself with its own electricity.
“Our company will continue to actively develop this area. We consider it not only in the context of economic benefits, but also from the point of view of developing alternative sources of energy supply, preserving exhaustible resources, both within the company and in the country as a whole,” Vice President of OKKO for Development and Technical Support Oleksandr Hehedysh said.
The most in-demand specialists in 2021 were specialists in sales, IT, banking and investment, marketing, advertising and PR, as well as transport and logistics, according to a study by the expert-analytical center grc.ua. “The search for personnel during the year has more than doubled,” Ruslana Berezovska, head of the expert-analytical center grc.ua, said.
In particular, vacancies in sales, IT, banking and investment, marketing, advertising and PR, transport and logistics increased from 91% to 174%.
At the same time, specialists in insurance, top management, law, sports, fitness and beauty industries, government service and non-profit organizations were not in demand in 2021.
According to the study, the leaders in the largest number of vacancies are Kyiv city, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv, and Kyiv regions.
The top five spheres with the highest average wages included: IT and communication (UAH 54,000), top management (UAH 43,600), consulting (UAH 26,200), construction and real estate (UAH 24,800), and civil service (UAH 23,100).
The top five spheres with the lowest average wages included: tourism and restaurants (UAH 13,200), healthcare (UAH 13,000), initial career (UAH 12,200), working staff (UAH 11,900), and administrative staff (UAH 10,700).
On Friday, December 10, the European Investment Bank (EIB) allocated EUR 50 million of loans to Ukraine, which will be used to finance coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination program in the country, in particular, to purchase a sufficient amount of vaccines against COVID-19.
According to the EU Delegation to Ukraine press service on Friday, the loan will support the health system and increase Ukraine’s viability in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
“This financial transaction is part of Team Europe’s overall initiative to respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the EU Delegation to Ukraine said in a statement.
To make vaccines more affordable for Ukrainians and strengthen the country’s ability to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and overcome its devastating consequences, the EIB has repurposed part of the funds of the current financial agreement.
“This is the Ukraine Municipal Infrastructure Programme (UMIP), signed between the EIB and Ukraine in 2015 in the amount of EUR 400 million. The EIB has allocated EUR 50 million under this agreement to finance the COVID-19 response. The agreement on the repurposing of the EUR 50 million loan was ratified by Ukraine in October 2021,” the office said.
According to Head of the EIB Resident Representation in Ukraine Jean-Erik de Zagon, the EIB is pleased to support the efforts of the Ukrainian government in the fight against COVID-19.
The banker said that to raise funds more quickly, the EIB managed to amend the already approved and existing loan. EUR 50 million repurposed for this aim will be used for the prompt procurement of vaccines. This is a necessary step to tackle the health and economic challenges of COVID-19, and to ensure a better future.
The procurement of vaccines against COVID-19 for funds provided by the EIB will be conducted by Crown Agents, previously approved by the Ukrainian government.
OTP Group plans to buy the Albanian subsidiary of Greek-based Alpha Bank for EUR55 million in the second quarter of 2022, the press service of the Ukrainian OTP Bank said.
According to the report, after the financial close of the deal, which is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approval, in terms of total assets, the market share of OTP Group in Albania will exceed 11%, and the size of the loan portfolio will increase by 1.5 times.
Alpha Bank is reported to be the eighth largest bank in Albania with a total market share of nearly 5% in terms of assets.
The UK will allocate an additional GBP 1 billion in support for Ukraine, which will go towards investment, trade and security, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“Great news from London: UK will allocate an additional GBP 1 billion in support for Ukraine. That means new investments, trade, security. As a result of my negotiations with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson last year, the total volume of British support increases to GBP 3.5 billion,”- Zelenskiy said on Twitter on Wednesday.
The National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) at a meeting on December 1 approved a plan for the development of the electricity distribution system for Ukrzaliznytsia for 2022-2026, which provides for an investment of UAH 2.9 billion.
According to the plan, 76% of the UAH 2.9 billion should be invested in construction, reconstruction and technical re-equipment of power grids and equipment.
The main consumer of electricity, which is transmitted by the grids of Ukrzaliznytsia, as the operator of the distribution system, is transport. Over the past four years, the share of transport in the total structure of electricity consumption transmitted through the distribution system of the company was 80-83%.
Ukrzaliznytsia predicts an overall growth in demand for electricity in the next five years at the level of 0.45% annually.
At present, the total installed capacity of renewable energy installations (RES) connected to the grids of Ukrzaliznytsia is 143.35 MW.
According to the issued technical specifications, it is necessary to connect renewable energy generation facilities for another 301.93 MW to the distribution system of the company.
As reported, on September 30 Ukrzaliznytsia bought more than 4.9 million MWh of electricity at an auction from Energoatom state enterprise at a price of UAH 1,105/MWh, which the company should receive by the end of 2022 and use exclusively for its own needs.
