JSC “Energy Company of Ukraine” is ready for any developments in the electricity market, in particular, to stop exports, said Vitaliy Butenko, General Director of the company.
“The situation in the energy sector of Ukraine today remains quite difficult in the context of the war. The company is ready for any scenario, including the cessation of exports,” Butenko said in a comment to the Energoreforma Internet portal on her request.
At the same time, he noted that the strategy of ECU JSC is primarily aimed at working in the domestic market.
“At the same time, we took advantage of the opportunity to export electricity, which made it possible for the state to earn additional profit. For 1.5 months, the income of three state-owned companies from the export activities of ECU amounted to almost UAH 2 billion, and the state’s share in electricity exports to Romania and Slovakia in September reached about 44%,” Butenko emphasized.
Regarding the loan in the amount of UAH 500 million, provided to the company NAEK by Energoatom, Butenko noted that its repayment does not depend on the presence or absence of exports.
“In accordance with our obligations to SE NAEK Energoatom, the state energy trader will repay the loan by the end of this year,” the head of ECU stressed.
As reported, a source of Energy Reform in the government said that from October 10 to October 15, a decision could be made to stop electricity exports to Europe, currently carried out at a capacity of 300 MW. The reason for this is the shortage of power generating capacities, associated, in particular, with the shutdown of all six units of ZNPP, the repair of 1.5 units at other NPPs and the possible withdrawal of another unit for repair, which leads to excess coal consumption, as well as a large number of TPP units in repair.
JSC “Energy Company of Ukraine” (JSC “EKU”), 100% of whose shares belong to the state, on August 17 for the first time entered the export of electricity in the Romanian and Slovak directions, from October 1 it began to export electricity to Poland.
Receipts from ECU by the state-owned NPC Ukrenergo (as a fee for the cross-section and transmission of electricity), SE Guaranteed Buyer (as part of the PSO for the population) and NNEGC Energoatom (payment for electricity) from August 19 to 13 September amounted to almost UAH 1.542 billion.
Earlier, Butenko said that state investments in ECU start-up capital, provided to him in August by NNEGC Energoatom in the form of repayable financial assistance in the amount of UAH 500 million, would be returned by the end of 2022.
According to ECU estimates, these investments can bring UAH 8.2 billion in income to state-owned companies by the end of the year.
JSC “ECU” is a diversified energy supply company that carries out operations for the purchase, sale, supply and market optimization of energy consumption for commercial customers. While the company supplies for export, however, it plans to work also in the domestic market. 100% of the company’s shares belong to the state, the powers to manage them are exercised by the Ministry of Economy.
