Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Ihor Nasalyk does not see any problem with accumulation of coal at warehouses of Ukrainian thermal power plants (TPPs).

"The Energy and Coal Industry Ministry have a plan to provide generating companies – TPPs and combined heat and power plants (CHPPs) with coal approved by the government. Today, according to the plan, we are to have 459,000 tonnes of anthracite coal and some 410,000 tonnes are at the warehouses. For gas coal – 646,000 tonnes and we reached 561,000 tonnes. The ministry is almost sticking to the schedule outlined in the plan. I do not see a large delay and this is a daily amount for coal supplies," he said in parliament last week.

Nasalyk added that if there were a lack of coal, it would be compensated by gas.

"We foresee that if coal were not supplied [anthracite from occupied areas of Donbas], the launch of gas-fuel oil units could be compensated. The capacity used by gas-fuel oil units to compensate anthracite coal is around 1.2-1.4 billion cubic meters. They are projected in the strategic gas stocks [in underground storage facilities for the new heating season]," he said.