The price of electricity for households, which currently stands at UAH 2.64/kWh, may rise to the cost price of UAH 3.5. This was stated in an exclusive comment to Komersant ukrainskyi first Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy, Housing and Utilities, former Minister of Housing and Utilities Oleksiy Kucherenko said in an exclusive interview with Kommersant.
“I don’t know yet when the government will make this decision – from 1 May or 1 June, and whether it will make it at all. But the situation is not easy: there is a lack of money in the energy sector, companies have huge problems, an imbalance, and money is needed for operations, repairs and restoration,”
– said the former Minister of Housing and Utilities.
Oleksiy Kucherenko explained how he calculated the cost of electricity and what it consists of.
“I officially asked the government, and they provided me with a full breakdown of the 4 components that make up the price of electricity, so I came up with an approximate figure of UAH 3.5. This is Energoatom’s electricity: the cost at the nuclear power plant must be taken into account, then Oblenergo, then Ukrenergo, etc. are added. This is how the cost is obtained,” he explained,
– he explained.
Such reflections and calculations led Kucherenko to believe that the price of electricity may be artificially low.
“From this I concluded that the government is using a special mechanism to force someone, such as Energoatom or Ukrhydroenergo, to sell below cost. This means that someone has to compensate for this. Today, it is compensated by business, but is it paying for it? I think not,”
– he added.
Kucherenko stressed that currently 25% of Ukrainians consume 75% of electricity.
“Who are these 25%? They are the wealthy, solvent population of Ukraine, which consumes electricity at a low price. This system will definitely not work for long,”
– he summarised.
Last year, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine increased the fixed electricity price for household consumers from UAH 1.44-1.68 per kWh to UAH 2.64 per kWh. Recently, against the backdrop of Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, there has been renewed talk of raising the price of electricity for households.