Ukrenergo planning to pay another 5 bln hryvni to renewable energy facilities by yearend in partial debt repayment

MOSCOW. Oct 22 (Interfax) - Ukrenergo has paid roughly 20 billion hryvni to the Guaranteed Buyer state enterprise this year for settlements with green electricity producers and expects the amount to reach 25 billion hryvni by the yearend, acting Ukrenergo Board Chairman Alexei Brekht said.

"Ukrenergo has already paid 20 billion hryvni to Guaranteed Buyer, and the payment will amount to 25 billion hryvni by the end of this year," Ukrainian media quoted Brekht as saying at the Energy Day 2024 industry event in Kiev on Tuesday.

He confirmed that the company's debt to Guaranteed Buyer stood at approximately 28 billion hryvni, mostly due to underfinancing of the system operator's electricity transmission tariff, from which the compensation is paid.

In his words, the 2024 tariff assigns only 12 billion hryvni for renewable energy compensations, and the company has already paid 20 billion hryvni. Brekht said he was hoping that next year's tariff would be loss-free for renewable energy facilities.

He added that Ukrenergo should make a final payment of 400 million hryvni today, using revenues from selling the electricity import-export cross-section to pay off debts on the balancing market and Guaranteed Buyers, as proportionately envisaged.

According to Brecht, the company also expects the adoption of a bill to implement the algorithm for distributing funds from a special-use current account, amendments to which may allow the use of funds from savings on dispatching in 2023-2024 to pay off debts to Guaranteed Buyer and the balancing market 50/50.

"We are counting on an additional 15 billion hryvni, which we will cover by the end of this year," he said.

As reported, Brekht said in early October that the Ukrenergo debts on the balancing market topped 16 billion hryvni, versus debts of balancing market actors to the company totaling more than 34 billion hryvni.

In his words, the company, acting consistent with the law on smart networks terminology of August 21, 2024, was going to channel some of the funds from distribution of access to the transmission system to the balancing market, which "may amount to almost 1.5 billion or, perhaps, 1.6 billion hryvni within a year."

In addition, in case of respective legislative amendments, a proportional allocation of funds from dispatching savings in 2023 and 2024 to the balancing market and Guaranteed Buyer is expected to compensate for green tariffs.

He also said then, "The total debt repayment upon the approval of legislative amendments will range from 12 billion to 15 billion hryvni, as we understand."