Cyclic power cutoffs in Kyiv region were unauthorized and they are not linked to the needs of regulating the balance of power in the country, and now competent agencies are investigating into this, minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Ostap Semerak has said.
‘Unfortunately, politics is involved in the cyclic power cutoffs we saw last week. The problem is that the owners of many regional power supply companies that conducted power cutoffs are Russian companies. These companies were put on the list of companies towards which sanctions could apply, according to the decision of the government,’ the press service of Semerak has reported on the 24 TV channel.
The minister said that there are no grounds for cyclic power cutoffs. He noted that Ukrainian law regulates such power cutoffs. The schedule is to be approved by the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry and local self-government agencies.
‘Ukraine is exporter of electricity to the markets of neighbor countries and the EU countries. If there is a need, Ukraine could cut supplies of power to the foreign market, but the country will not disconnect households,’ Semerak said.
The minister said that Ukraine saved almost $500 million on reverse gas supplies from Europe.
‘If we compare the price of gas Ukraine pays under reverse contracts on the EU market compared to the price Russia offered, we come to the conclusion that gas bought on the European market was some $500 million cheaper for Ukraine than if the country bought the same amount of gas in Russia,’ Semerak said.
