The Ukraine finds coal

Since May, the Ukraine stopped  the import electricity from Russia: warm weather and the relative stabilization of coal supplies helped it. The Russian Energy Ministry expects that by winter Kiev will resume the talks on the import of electricity, but the Ukraine increases its coal stocks and hopes to survive the cold season due to its own generation. According to experts, it will be possible only in the case of a warm winter.

On Friday, it became clear that the Ukraine fulfilled the promise to stop importing electricity from Russia as soon as the situation with the supply of fuel for thermal power plants becomes better. The stop of the supply on the export contract between Inter RAO UES and Ukrinterenergo was confirmed by the head of the Russian Ministry of Energy, Alexander Novak. The Ministry clarified that the export stopped from May 1. The Minister explained that this led to a revision of the price of electricity supply to the Crimea - from 2.99 rubles per 1 kWh, approved in late December, to 3.42 rubles per 1 kWh from July 1. Mr. Nowak thinks that in autumn the parties will return to the negotiations on the volume and price. The agreement between Ukrinterenergo and Inter RAO UES is valid until the end of the year, but doesn’t provide for compulsory purchase, says the source of the Kommersant in the Energy Ministry of the Ukraine. Inter RAO UES declined to comment.