The Chairman of the Board of the Solar Energy Association of Ukraine, Vladyslav Sokolovsky, gave an interview to RBC-Ukraine on the critical debt situation in the electricity market and its impact on preparing the energy system for the next heating season.
According to the expert, the situation in the balancing market continues to deteriorate rapidly. “The total debt of market participants to NPC Ukrenergo has reached a critical UAH 42 billion,” noted Vladyslav Sokolovsky. At the same time, Ukrenergo’s own debt to generators exceeds UAH 30 billion.
The SEAU Chairman emphasized that the pace of debt growth is extremely alarming: “The dynamics of debt growth are catastrophic,” as debts increase by approximately UAH 1 billion per month and may reach UAH 50 billion in the near future.
According to him, this situation has a devastating impact on the sector:
“Debts in the balancing market are funds literally drained from generators’ cash flow that could have been directed to recovery, including generation capacity.”
According to SEAU estimates, renewable energy and flexible generation are hit the hardest, particularly cogeneration units and gas engine generation. “This is a paradox: Ukraine declares a critical need for system flexibility, yet those who provide this flexibility remain unpaid,” the expert emphasized.
In the interview, Vladyslav Sokolovsky also outlined key steps needed to stabilize the market situation, including:
- introduction of targeted state support for critical infrastructure enterprises;
- reform of the settlement mechanism with the supplier of last resort;
- provision of state financial guarantees to stabilize Ukrinterenergo operations;
- strengthening payment discipline and stopping the accumulation of new debts.
“Only by stopping the accumulation of new debts will we be able to attract financing to cover the existing ones,” Mr. Sokolovsky stressed.
The SEAU Chairman warned that without urgent measures, the situation may have systemic consequences for the entire energy sector: “These steps must be implemented within the next few months. Otherwise, the energy system will enter the next winter with a financial gap that cannot be covered by any loans, leading to irreversible degradation of both networks and generation.”
SEAU emphasizes that resolving the debt issue is critically important for restoring the sector’s investment attractiveness, developing new generation capacity, and ensuring Ukraine’s energy resilience.
More details in the RBC-Ukraine article.