Thursday14 November 2024
good-news.com.ua

The Energy Regulatory Commission must act to prevent an escalation of debt issues in the energy sector, according to an expert.

The National Commission responsible for state regulation in the energy and utility sectors must make decisions that will help prevent an escalation of debt issues in the electricity market. This was stated by Andrian Prokip, an expert on the "Energy" program at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, in a post on his Facebook page.
Эксперт утверждает, что НКРЭКУ обязана предотвратить рост долговых проблем в энергетическом секторе.

"Both "Ukrenergo" and "Guaranteed Buyer", as well as the renewable energy producers who are not receiving payments, are hostages of the regulator – the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Utilities (NERC), which for many years, while approving tariffs, has believed that there would be enough funds. However, it turns out that there are insufficient funds to make payments without incurring debts," – stated Prokip.

He reminded that last week the issue resurfaced regarding the fact that the state enterprise "Guaranteed Buyer" filed a lawsuit against NEC "Ukrenergo" to recover UAH 6.5 billion in debt for the service of increasing the share of "green" generation.

Prokip noted that the debt of "Ukrenergo" for services related to renewable energy sources has reached UAH 28.44 billion. In his opinion, discussions around the idea that "Ukrenergo" supposedly has the right to avoid paying debts under various pretenses are very harmful to both the industry and the company itself.

"The problem with proponents of simple solutions is that they do not always consider the long-term consequences. Not to mention the potential defaults of companies that refuse to pay, and the repercussions this would have for the entire energy sector," – said Prokip.

He emphasized that the debt issue directly impacts the activity of "green" auctions that the government will be conducting in the near future.

"Here’s a rhetorical question: who will trust a new model for the development of renewable energy if it turns out that at some point it will be permissible not to pay?" – the expert highlighted.