The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, in preparation for the autumn-winter heating season and its passage, plans to cover the shortage of coal in the warehouses of thermal power plants by increasing its imports, Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko said at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday.

"We are now seeing a lag behind the schedule [for coal accumulation] that was planned, but we plan to catch up by increasing the supply of imported coal," the minister said.

According to him, as of September 29, 906,000 tonnes of coal are accumulated in the warehouses of Ukrainian thermal power plants and combined heat power plants, of which 635,000 tonnes of gas group coal and 271,000 tonnes of anthracite.

The Ministry of Energy also plans to make maximum use of the power units of Ukrainian NPPs during the heating season.

"We expect to work with 14 units out of 15 and there is such an option that the fifteenth unit will be in reserve and, if necessary, it can also be involved in the power system," Haluschenko said.

The minister also said that by the beginning of the heating season, which starts at an average daily temperature below 8 degrees Celsius, the Energy Ministry plans to accumulate 19.2 billion cubic meters of gas in Ukrainian gas storage facilities with the current stock being 18.8 billion cubic meters.