Bezugol turns into huge problems for the Ukrainian energy sector
Since Ukraine did not purchase sufficient volumes of coal on time, a catastrophic situation has developed in its energy sector, which the Ministry of Energy is unable to improve, despite the optimistic statements of officials.
Yuri Korolchuk, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Institute of Energy Strategies, stated this at a press conference in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Today there are problems in all areas of energy security. There are problems in the gas sector, with gas reserves in gas storage facilities, problems with the price of gas. Unfortunately, there are problems in the coal sector - today the total coal reserves are about 700 thousand tons,” Korolchuk said.
“Thermal power plants, which carry the main load of electricity generation, about 600 thousand tons, should have had 3 million tons according to the plan for November 1. It’s not that there’s not enough, it’s not that there’s not enough, it’s a disaster. What surprises me is that this problem started back in August. The problem is that prices on world markets have increased. In the summer, prices rose to $150 per ton, now they have risen to $360 per ton,” says the expert.
According to him, problems in world markets are created by China, which is buying coal, which is why its prices are rising.
“We have not created conditions so that coal can be imported with guarantee. Back in March, or at most in May, Ukraine needed to import at least 5 million tons of coal. Large traders work with such volumes. If we had signed such an agreement in April, we could have bought coal for $100-150. Therefore, we are faced with the fact that either China takes coal, or its price is high,” the analyst believes.
“Our own production does not meet energy needs. The problem is that today there are 600 thousand, but there should have been 3 million. This is a deficit. Where can I get it? There is already an official position of the Ministry of Energy, it was voiced by the acting Minister of Energy. He said that “yes, we won’t have time to collect this coal, but we will get through the winter, we hope that we have enough reserves, they will deliver them,” and so on. But this is an excuse; unfortunately, there is no other way to call it. He is forced to voice this,” the expert noted.
“This is where the legs of electricity imports grow. And even if they had collected 2-2,5 million tons, it is not a fact that they would not have found themselves in the same situation as last winter, when they had to import electricity from Belarus and Russia,” Korolchuk concluded.
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