Ukrenergo needs to raise about EUR1 billion in the next ten years to modernize its power grids, company head Vsevolod Kovalchuk has said at a press conference in Kyiv.

He noted in recent years the company has been actively cooperating with international financial organizations represented by the EBRD, the EIB and KfW, attracting funds from them for modernization of its networks and substations.

"Today our loan portfolio is about EUR1.5 billion and we need to raise about EUR1 billion over the next ten years or receive in the tariff component to bring our network to the required technical level," Kovalchuk said.

According to him, about EUR400 million of the credit programs worth EUR1.5 billion has been used. The company is now discussing attracting about EUR300 million from the EBRD and the EIB with the possibility of signing contracts in late 2017-early 2018.

"As for the deficit funds of about EUR500-700 million, they are not needed in the next five or six years, since we will not be able to take such a number of measures simultaneously. These projects will be prepared in three or four years and implemented starting from 2022," the expert said.