DTEK energy holding will send official notifications to 32 companies warning them of not buying coal made by the group's divisions located on the temporarily uncontrolled territory, DTEK CEO Maksym Timchenko has said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"We have a list of 32 companies which potentially could buy this coal. We will send this letter to each company. Today a separate unit has been created in the company where lawyers play first fiddle. We warned from the beginning that we will protect own property and own products using all available legal ways," he said.

He said that in 2016, Sverdlovanthracite, Rovenkyanthracite and Komsomolets Donbasu planned to extract 12.8 million tonnes of coal. Consumption of Starobesheve thermal power plant (TPP) of Donbasenergo in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone is around 2.2 million tonnes.

Taking into account that sulphur content in anthracite extracted in Donbas does not meet the requirements of foreign markets, and Russia has a large surplus in production of anthracite, Ukrainian companies are potential buyers of around 10 million tonnes of coal.

"Average sulphur content in Ukrainian anthracite is 1.7% and in hard ash coal is 2.6%. The requirement for exports is 0.9% and lower. This coal may not be exported," Timchenko said.

DTEK would warn Novocherkask TPP under control of Russia's Gazprom that it is unlawful to buy coal from the company's divisions on the temporarily uncontrolled territory, while TPP every year consumes around 3 million tonnes of anthracite and Russia annually produces around 12 million tonnes of this coal.

"We are taking the similar steps [as for Donbasenergo] for Novocherkask TPP, which the second potential buyer of coal. The plant belongs to Gazprom, which securities are listed on more than 10 exchanges. TPP would receive the similar notification. We also plan to send notifications to all exchanges," he said.