Energy market of Ukraine needs to cover EUR 250 mln liquidity deficit per month – Energy Minister

The fall in the level of payments in the energy market of Ukraine in the conditions of the war started by Russia leads to a liquidity deficit of about EUR 250 million per month, which can be covered by such sources as financial assistance from partners, and by expanding the export of Ukrainian electricity to Europe, Minister of Energy Herman Haluschenko said.

"We are doing everything possible to save the electricity market. We are also considering several options. Firstly, we turned to international financial institutions with a corresponding request for the need for about EUR 250 million per month to support the energy market," he said via video link at an event on the security and stability of the Ukrainian energy sector organized by the Energy Community in Vienna on Monday.

The minister noted that the second option is to allow the commercial export of electricity from Ukraine in significant volumes, which would significantly reduce the size of these potential loans.

"Therefore, of course, we are very interested in getting this opportunity for commercial exchange as soon as possible," he said.

The minister explained that, despite the exceptional stability of the energy system of Ukraine, which it has been demonstrating since the very beginning of the war, there has been a decline in the financial stability of the energy market.

"At the beginning of the war, we saw a decline in consumption by 35%, and payments - by about 60%. And the lack of liquidity, of course, can lead to the collapse and bankruptcy of the entire system," the minister cited the calculations.

At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine does not intend to abandon the market model in favor of the market with manual control, as it was before.

"Restoring a normal market will take a long time and require a lot of effort," the official said.