Settlements between industrial consumers, Ukrenergo for transmission, dispatch reduce electricity market debt to UAH 52-53 bln - CEO

MOSCOW. April 5 (Interfax) - Total debt in the electricity market as of the beginning of April this year is approximately UAH 52-53 billion, which is 12-13% less than in December 2023, said Vladimir Kudritsky, CEO of Ukrenergo.

"In total, the debt has decreased somewhat. We gave a figure of approximately UAH 60 billion in December. Now the total debt is approximately UAH 52-53 billion, according to preliminary data," Ukrainian media quoted him as saying at a briefing on Thursday.

Kudritsky said the debt fell thanks to partial settlement between industrial consumers and Ukrenergo for power transmission and dispatch.

As reported, the debts of industrial consumers on the balancing market to the company amount to more than UAH 31 billion, and the company itself owes UAH 19 billion for generation as a result, according to data as of early April, announced at this briefing.

Kudritsky said these debts are the main obstacle to private investment in distributed generation, which the energy system badly needs.

He said this problem might be resolved by stopping debts from accumulating by determining a list of ring-fenced industrial consumers and disconnecting defaulters, then repaying the debt by raising funds from international financial organizations.