Thermal power plants of DTEK Corporation, which belongs to the oligarch, buy coal from his mines on the Ukrainian price but they sell electricity as this coal is bought at a cost of "Rotterdam+" formula. Thus, the price of imported coal in the European port plus the cost of delivery to Ukraine is included into the tariff.
The formula "Rotterdam+" was invented to take more money from consumers. If the coal we use would be imported, this scheme of calculation would be understandable. But we consume the energy resource, which is mined and transported on the territory of Ukraine. With the exception of a small part of coal that is imported from South Africa or Poland," - the expert said.
DTEK generates 70 percent of Ukraine's thermal energy. Under these "formula" approach, Akhmetov's business has received about 10 billion UAH of additional income over the past year. This is money that consumers overpaid, Gonchar says.
The Ukrainian thermal power plants use anthracite, which is mined in the mines in the territories of the so-called DNR and LNR which are not controlled by Ukraine. The problem can be solved by modernizing thermal power plants, so they could work at gas coal. This coal is in abundance in the mines of Western Ukraine and in Poland.
According to the expert, 2-3 years would be enough to reconstruct thermal power stations to combustion of coal gas.
"But the dominant DTEK Corporation, which mines coal in the occupied territories, does not want to do so. Because it should invest. But it, more likely, will use corruption mechanisms to assure the government that "everything will be OK". It wants to avoid interference in its work, " he added.
On January, 25, a number of MPs, among them Semen Semenchenko, Pavlo Kostenko, Volodimir Parasyuk, declared a trade blockade of the occupied territories of Donbass. They blocked the railway in several directions. In particular, the coal was supplied to Ukraine by this way.
On February, 10, the Minister of Energy Igor Nasalik said the TV channel "1+1" that the refusal of the coal from the occupied territories of Donbass would cost Ukraine UAH 15 bn.
On February, 12, Volodimir Groisman reported that the blocking of coal supplies meant periodic electricity cut offs over the country. But shift to gas generation will lead to a further growth of prices for heat or power.
Anastasia Posychaylo
