You're reading: Ukrainian electricity exports surge by 52.5 percent in 2011

Ukraine’s electricity exports surged by 52.5 percent (by 2.215 billion kilowatt hours) to 6.433 billion kilowatt hours in 2011, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Jan. 13 citing an Energy Ministry source.

Citing the source, Interfax reported that electricity supplied from the ‘energy island’ of Burshtynska thermal power plant (TPP) to Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania increased by 160 percent to 3.091 billion kilowatt hours in 2011. The significant increase was the result of the almost total absence of commercial exports to these destinations in March-September 2010, Interfax wrote citing the Energy Ministry source.

Poland imported 59.6 million kilowatt hours of Ukrainian electricity in 2011 compared to no imports in 2010, Interfax reported. Vostokenergo, a part of the dominant DTEK energy holding, started exports to Poland on October 17, 2011. Electricity was not supplied to Poland in December 2011. Owned by Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov, DTEK controls much of Ukraine’s electricity generation and exports.

Interfax reported that Belarus imported 2.562 billion kilowatt hours from Ukraine in the 12 months, down 12.9 percent from 2010. The decrease in Ukrainian electricity supply to Belarus was the result of a halt to exports in May-June 2011 since Belarus did not have enough forex resources for paying for imports, Interfax said adding that supply was restarted in July.

Ukraine, according to Interfax, supplied 665.6 million kilowatt hours to Moldova in 2011 compared to 24.8 million kilowatt hours in 2010. DTEK Power Trade, also a part of DTEK, started commercial supply of Ukrainian electricity to this country, the news agency reported.

Electricity exports to Russia in 2011 came to 55.5 million kilowatt hours, a decrease of 30.3 percent from 2010, according to the report. Ukrinterenergo exported electricity to Russia during night hours in May-July as part of an agreement for hourly interstate trade of electricity.

Exports of electricity in December 2011 went up by 24.8 percent year-on-year to 694.6 million kilowatt hours, Interfax reported.