Ukraine's income from export of Ukrainian electricity in 2008 grew by 26.8% or $101.6 million year-over-year, to $480.4 million, despite a fall of 14.5% or 1.332 billion kWh in supplies, to 7.868 billion kWh, Ukraine's Fuel and energy Ministry has told Interfax-Ukraine.
"The increase in income in the light of a fall in exports is explained by a jump in the price of Ukrainian electricity supplied to European countries," the ministry said.
The average weighted price of exported Ukrainian electricity in 2008 was $61.1 per MWh, a rise of 48.3% or $19.9 per MWh year-over-year.
The average weighted price of Ukrainian electricity exported from the so-called Island of the Burshtynska Thermal Plant, which was linked up with the European energy system in 2002, in 2008 grew by 37.3% or $20.9 per MWh year-over-year, to $76.9 per MWh.
Export of Ukrainian electricity generated at the at the Burshtynska Thermal Plant to Slovakia, Hungary and Romania grew by 3.1% or 125.1 million kWh year-over-year, to 4.102 billion kWh.
Ukrainian electricity supplies to Moldova over the period grew by 1.9%, to Poland – by 21.4%, to Slovakia –5.3 times. Exports to Hungary fell by 30.9% in 2008, as did exports to Romania by 84.6%.
A considerable fall in export of Ukrainian electricity to Hungary and a large rise in export to Slovakia is linked with the blocking of the Ukrainian-Hungarian power flow by Hungary's MAVIR Zrt due to a corporate conflict. Hungarian companies have to transit Ukrainian electricity through Slovakia.
Commercial supplies of Ukrainian electricity to Russia and Belarus in 2008 were not implemented while exported to Poland were only from April to November, the ministry said.
Electricity exports to Belarus were suspended as of July 1, 2007 as were deliveries to Russia and Poland, as of October 1, 2007. Increasing domestic consumption of Ukrainian electricity and the refusal of several countries to purchase electricity at higher prices resulted in the suspension of deliveries.
Ukraine reduced electricity exports by 2.3% or 14.1 million kWh year-on-year in December 2008, to 605.2 million kWh, the Fuel and Energy Ministry told Interfax-Ukraine.
Electricity imports from Russia to Ukraine in 2008 was 937.8 million kWh. The supplies started on September 15 and stopped on December 1, 2008.
Ukraine reduced electricity exports 11.8% to 9.2 billion kWh in 2007.
Structure of exports of Ukrainian electricity in December 2007 and December 2008:
