Govt unable to pay debts to renewable energy suppliers without external funding - Ukrainian Solar Energy Association head

MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) - There is no decision how to pay debts to green-tariff electricity suppliers for 2022-2024, which exceed UAH 20 billion, however, the debts cannot be repaid without external funding, Ukrainian Solar Energy Association Board Chairman Vladislav Sokolovsky said.

"This is an institutional problem. [...] There is no magic wand. I believe it is unrealistic to pay old debts to industrial renewable energy facilities without external funding. It seems we do not have enough domestic resources," Sokolovsky told the Ukrainian press.

Debts must be repaid anyway to stimulate renewable energy development in Ukraine, he said. "If we speak about building new industrial facilities, they will not be working by the green tariff, but paying old debts of the Guaranteed Buyer to companies entitled to the green tariff would send a certain message to the market," Sokolovsky said.

In his opinion, further increase of the Ukrenergo transmission tariff, where the green tariff surcharge comes from, "also seems to be a road to nowhere."

A partial solution to the debt problem is Bill No. 9381 (yet to be signed by Zelensky), which directs Ukrenergo dispatching savings for settling renewable energy debts (45% industrial and 10% domestic solar power plants) and the balancing market (45%), he said.

"This is about assigning 45% of the funds to industrial plants, which roughly amounts to UAH 4.5 billion. Besides, part of the remaining 45% assigned for paying balancing market debts of the system operator will go around. It's hard to say exactly, but renewable energy suppliers will get more than UAH 4.5 billion in the end," he said.

As reported, the Guaranteed Buyer records 79.6% settlements of renewable energy suppliers for 2024, versus 95.3% for 2023 and 62.2% for 2022, as of January 16. Debts to large renewable energy suppliers totaled UAH 22 billion in 2022-2024.

The National Electricity Regulatory Commission approved the Ukrenergo electricity transmission tariff at UAH686.23 (without VAT) in 2025, almost 30% more than in 2024. Renewable energy industry actors said it was the first time in recent years that the tariff would entail no deficit for them in 2025.

In the words of Ukrenergo head Alexei Brekht, the tariff would help the company stop accumulating debts.