President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting with representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers and relevant departments on the situation in the electricity market.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Head of State reminded that a new model of electricity market had started working in Ukraine since July 1, leading to the increase of tariffs for non-domestic consumers.
“We have to finish today’s meeting with concrete solutions to the issue of electricity price reduction at least by 15-20%,” the President emphasized.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the effect of the electricity price increase on the water supply and heating prices for population, tariffs for the industrial enterprises, as well as mechanisms of electricity price regulation given the monopoly position in the market of individual producers.
Following the meeting, Representative of the President in the Cabinet of Ministers Andriy Gerus informed that an agreement had been achieved as regards three steps necessary to reduce electricity price.
According to him, the Cabinet of Ministers have to approve a resolution on specific duties of Ukrhydroenergo and Energoatom.
“We expect this resolution to reduce Ukrenergo's tariff more than three times. Now it is 32 kopecks per kilowatt-hour, and 8-9 kopecks is expected,” Andriy Gerus said.
He recalled that discussions on electricity tariff set by Ukrenergo were continued because it included a green tariff.
“This tariff has increased significantly and it has been challenged in the courts. Therefore, a new resolution on specific duties and a new Ukrenergo tariff may reduce the tariff for end consumers by 11%, as well as eliminate motivation to challenge this tariff in the court,” he emphasized.
Another factor contributing to the cheapening of electricity cost should be the change in price caps in the domestic market.
“It makes sense to raise the nighttime price a bit in terms of price restriction - maybe about 10%. And to lower the daytime price, as it is much higher than in all European countries. The daytime price cap can be reduced by 20%. Thus, it can give an additional 9% reduction in the final tariff for the consumer,” Andriy Gerus said.
"If these three measures are implemented, we can get about a 20% reduction in the tariff for all consumers - large, medium and small business, budgetary institutions and organizations, kindergartens and schools," he said.
The Representative of the President in the Cabinet of Ministers also stated unsatisfactory preparation for the heating season - the amount of coal in the warehouses is 40% less than last year's reserves.
“We have had a tough discussion with thermal generation companies, particularly large ones. We have emphasized that coal reserves in warehouses cannot be used as a way of blackmail for high tariffs. We would like the companies to keep sufficient amount of coal in the warehouses,” Andriy Gerus noted.