Ukraine to allocate $39 million to restore two Centrenergo thermal power plants - Prime Minister

MOSCOW. May 17 (Interfax) - Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has allocated UAH 1.55 billion (over $39 million at the current exchange rate) for the restoration of the Zmievskaya thermal power plant in the Kharkov region and the Trypilska thermal power plant in the Kiev region, Ukrainian media reported, citing a speech by Prime Minister Denis Shmygal.

"Today we are allocating UAH 726 million for state company Centrenergo, which owns the Zmievskaya and Trypilska thermal power plants. Funds for the restoration of these thermal power plants will be allocated from the state budget reserve fund," he said at a government meeting on Friday (a video of his speech was posted on YouTube).

In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated another UAH 826 million to restore these critical thermal power plants from a special recovery fund. "We expect maximum efficiency in the use of these funds. The work must be done as quickly as possible," Shmygal said.

The Prime Minister also said that "the energy system is intact and is operating stably. The energy companies are in control of the situation. However, the generation is not enough to cover all consumption. Therefore, Ukrenergo has been forced to return to a shutdown schedule both for industry and the general public," Shmygal said.

The official exchange rate as of May 17 is 39.43 UAH/$1.