Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers declared a state of emergency in Ukraine’s energy sector on Feb. 15 due to serious shortages of anthracite coal.
The coal shortages have been caused by a blockade of territories that are not controlled by Ukraine (where anthracite is mined), which Donbas war veterans have been enforcing for nearly three weeks.
Volodymyr Groysman, Ukraine’s prime minister, criticized the blockade of the separatist-controlled territories, calling it a “crime.” He added that the blockade threatens the country’s energy security. The state of emergency in the energy sector means the entire energy system will be set to work at minimum capacity.
“As for everything else, please, feel free to blockade that… or fight against smuggling in (the Donbas), you can count on me,” Groysman was quoted as saying during a cabinet session on Feb. 15.
Vsevolod Kovalchuk, the acting head of the state-run national energy company Ukrenergo, which runs Ukraine’s national power system, warned on Feb. 13 that even with the introduction of a state of emergency in the energy sector, current stocks of anthracite coal at thermal power plants would only last for another 40 days. Current anthracite reserves stand at around 997,000 tons, according to Ukrainian Energy Minister Ihor Nasalyk.
Officials warned that possible blackouts might begin in late February and would affect at least seven areas, including Kharkiv, Dnipro (formerly Dnipropetrovsk), Kyiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Sumy and Cherkasy.
Nasalyk added that the Cabinet of Ministers is considering the creation of stockpiles of anthracite coal in the regions.
