Energy Minister of Ukraine Herman Galushchenko expressed confidence that the country can become an exporter of electricity.

According to him, for this it is necessary to develop our own generating capacities.

“This applies not only to the completion of the construction of two power units of the Khmelnitsky NPP, but also to the development of generation based on renewable energy sources (renewable energy sources. -

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), high-maneuver generation and energy storage systems.

The Ministry is actively working on incentives for the development of these areas.

This meets both the needs of Ukraine and our international climate commitments, ”the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy wrote on Facebook.

So the official commented on the decision of the Ukrainian National Commission for State Regulation in the Spheres of Energy and Utilities (NKREKU) to suspend the import of electricity from Russia and Belarus.

Galushchenko stressed that he supports the limitation of supplies until Ukraine's integration into the European Network of Electricity Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E).

According to the minister, complete disconnection from the energy systems of Russia and Belarus is a planned strategic step.

On May 26, NEURC adopted a resolution "On access to the throughput of interstate communications", which prohibits the supply of electricity from Russia and Belarus until October 1, 2021.

At the same time, in February, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Kuleba announced his intention to finally disconnect from the unified power grid by the end of 2023.

“After that, any power flows ... will become physically impossible,” Kuleba stressed after negotiations with his Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielus Landsbergis.

Variable policy

As a reminder, in December 2014, Kiev signed an agreement with the Russian company Inter RAO on the supply of electricity to the country.

The Ukrainian authorities then explained the signing of the agreement with Moscow by the need to have "insurance" in case of unforeseen circumstances.

For example, the Ukrainian side had to resort to supplies from Russia in the summer of 2015, when the Uglegorskaya TPP found itself in a war zone in the Donbass.

In the fall, supplies were stopped, but in 2019 the Rada again allowed the import of electricity under bilateral agreements.

  • Uglegorskaya TPP

  • © Wikimedia commons / Artemka

The permit was valid until the Rada adopted amendments to the law "On the Electricity Market", which provided for a ban on the import of capacities from Russia.

However, the Ukrainian authorities still provided an opportunity to turn to this source to prevent emergencies in the Ukrainian energy system.

In April 2020, NEURC again announced the reduction of imports from Russia and Belarus to zero.

The ban was in effect until mid-December 2020, and already in January 2021, due to severe frosts, Ukraine was forced to turn to Belarus for emergency supplies of electricity.

For the second time, Kiev turned to Minsk with a request for urgent supplies of electricity in February - the cause was accidents at two Ukrainian thermal power plants and bad weather.

According to experts, the attempts of the Ukrainian authorities to prohibit the import of electricity from Belarus and Russia are dictated not by economic, but by political considerations.

“These bans are just demonstrative populist gestures, and even now Kiev has not gone to a complete stop of these imports.

If they need it, supplies will be resumed in the fall, "political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak said in an interview with RT.

A similar point of view is shared by Stanislav Mitrakhovich, an expert at the National Energy Security Fund, lecturer at the Financial University under the Russian government.

“The practice of recent years has shown that Kiev cannot completely stop importing electricity from Russia and Belarus.

In cold winters, Ukraine needs additional supplies.

Refusal from them will lead to the shutdown of enterprises, and this will entail further socio-economic consequences.

Kiev is not ready to take risks, so now the ban has been introduced only until autumn, "the expert explained in a commentary on RT.

Green redistribution

According to analysts, if the situation in the energy sector of Ukraine does not change, it will not be able not only to become an exporter of electricity, but even to meet its own needs.

At the same time, Russia is named as the "culprit" of energy problems.

Earlier this accusation was made by the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, the chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine Mykhailo Volynets.

In his opinion, Russia allegedly deliberately lowers electricity prices in order to harm the Ukrainian energy sector.

“This is a hybrid energy war in order to finally stop and destroy Ukrainian mines, destroy uranium ore mines - they are now on the verge of stopping - and stop thermal power plants,” Volynets said, speaking on the air of the Rada TV channel in April.

As Inter RAO explained to RIA Novosti at the time, prices for Ukrainian buyers are determined through tenders and are formed on the basis of commercial offers made by the buyers themselves.

Experts note that although such accusations against Russia are absurd, Volynets gave a correct assessment of the state of the Ukrainian energy sector.

  • Khmelnytsky NPP

  • Reuters

  • © Valentyn Ogirenko

Recall that Ukraine imports most of the raw materials used in the nuclear power industry from Russia.

In 2019, Kiev started talking about plans to increase its own uranium production.

In particular, it was planned to increase the efficiency of the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant (VostGOK) - the only enterprise in the country for the extraction and processing of uranium ore.

The plant was idle for a long time and only started working in January 2020.

However, by the end of the year, strikes began at the enterprise - workers demanded to pay off wage arrears.

The public appeal to the Rada of the team of the Ukrainian "Energoatom" - the operator of all Ukrainian nuclear power plants (15 power units in total operate in the country) also speaks of the problems in the nuclear industry.

The nuclear workers accused the authorities of trying to finance at the expense of the nuclear industry "an absolutely unprofitable and parasitic scheme for the well-being of the Ukrainians, the scheme of green energy." The company believes that by its actions the country's leadership is destroying the nuclear power industry of Ukraine.

Indeed, since 2009, the so-called green tariff has been in effect in Ukraine. The state sets higher prices for suppliers of electricity obtained from renewable sources. Thus, the authorities stimulate the development of green energy. The electricity produced by such companies is bought by the trader of the State Enterprise “Guaranteed Buyer” at increased tariffs. Then electricity is supplied to consumers at market prices. The difference between them and the inflated green tariff should be compensated for by the low cost of electricity supplied by nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power plants. The outstanding losses are passed on to the electricity transmission operator, Ukrenergo.

As a result, the company suffers huge losses.

In the first nine months of 2020 alone, Ukrenergo has accumulated 28.6 billion hryvnia ($ 1.04 billion) in losses.

Most of the amount (86%) fell on the costs of covering the green tariff and the fulfillment of special obligations.

According to experts, given the level of economic development at which Ukraine is located, it is too early for the country to switch to renewable energy sources.

“Such a transition requires large investments, which Ukraine cannot provide.

The population is also unable to pay at inflated rates.

The green tariff is simply lobbied by certain business groups that benefit from this whole scheme, ”says Alexander Dudchak.

  • Wind power plant "Stary Sambir-1" in the Lviv region

  • RIA News

  • © Stringer

Stanislav Mitrakhovich agrees with this assessment.

According to the expert, the Ukrainian authorities have created conditions that are beneficial only for investors in green energy, and the costs are transferred to nuclear energy.

“Instead of replacing old, expired NPP power units, Kiev will pay a green tariff.

As a result, nuclear power can lose its future altogether.

As for renewable energy, for its development it is necessary to invest more funds than Ukraine can afford, ”the expert explained.

Missed opportunities

The coal industry in Ukraine is also going through difficult times, since the current authorities do not consider it promising.

In February 2021, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal announced the development of a program to phase out coal for the period until 2030.

According to him, the process is planned in the "context of a green transition" and "decarbonization of the economy."

“All these (coal. -

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) regions have the old infrastructure of the 60s-80s of the last century.

Depletion, closure of mines and the gradual strategic closure of the coal industry as a whole will create social tensions in the future, ”Shmygal said.

At the same time, Ukraine plans to finally abandon the use of coal in the energy sector by 2070.

  • Denis Shmygal

  • Reuters

  • © Francois Walschaerts / Pool

According to Stanislav Mitrakhovych, if the degradation of the Ukrainian industry continues, the country can reduce its needs for electricity and refuse coal.

At the same time, if the country's leadership invested in energy development, Ukraine could really become a player in the energy market, the expert said.

In turn, Alexander Dudchak doubts that Kiev will be able to reduce coal generation.

“Such announcements are made rather for political reasons, while the current authorities of the country are engaged in the systematic destruction of industry and other sectors of the economy.

Yes, Ukraine could well become an exporter of electricity, but with a different political leadership, ”the expert summed up.