Oschadbank to restructure Ukrenergo's loan
MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax) - State-owned Oschadbank has agreed to restructure its loan to Ukrenergo to reduce the burden on the power grid operator's electricity transmission tariff, the bank's Deputy CEO for Corporate Business Yury Katsion said.
"Realizing the size of the burden on the budget and Ukrenergo's tariff, we agreed to meet them halfway and indeed moved some of the payments - both interest and the principal amount of the loan - to next year and subsequent periods," Katsion told Ukrainian media on the sidelines of DiXi Group's Energy Security Dialogue 2023 in Kiev.
"Roughly speaking, they were supposed to make payments in 2024, but we have stretched them over 2024 and 2025. The main criterion is to ensure that the loan does not cause any excess burden that will then prompt the National Energy and Public Utilities Regulation Commission to sharply raise the transmission tariff," he said.
As reported, Ukrenergo CEO Vladimir Kudritsky told journalists on the sidelines of the same forum that the company is finalizing the loan restructuring process with state banks, and the negotiations are likely to succeed.
Kudritsky did not provide any details.
Ukrenergo signed credit facility agreements on December 30, 2020, borrowing 5 billion hryvni from Oschadbank, 4 billion hryvni from Ukreximbank and 1.25 billion hryvni from Ukrgasbank to repay debts to renewable energy generation facilities, among other purposes.
On December 9, 2023, the National Energy and Public Utilities Regulation Commission, approving the Ukrenergo transmission tariff, cut the company's expenses on repaying state bank loans by 4.3 billion hryvni to almost 3 billion hryvni due to their possible restructuring.
At the same time, the commission set Ukrenergo's electricity transmission tariff for 2024 at 528.57 hryvni/MWh (without VAT), which is almost 9% higher than the tariff valid until the end of 2023. At its meeting on November 16, the commission approved the electricity transmission tariff of 592.89 hryvni/MWh (without VAT).