Coal stocks at Ukrainian thermal power plants fell to historic lows

The chief dispatcher of NPC Ukrenergo, Vitalii Zaichenko, said that as of January 25, coal stocks in the warehouses of Ukrainian thermal power plants amounted to 455 thousand tons, which cannot guarantee the country's energy security and is a historical low, Ekonomichna Pravda reports.

“Unfortunately, the warehouses of coal-fired power plants are worn out to a level that is probably the lowest for the entire period of Ukraine's independence,” said Zaichenko. I would like to draw your attention that half of this coal is concentrated at two stations: 116 thousand tons of anthracite at the Luhansk TPP and 105 thousand tons at the Slavyansk TPP, which, as you know, does not work. Other stations have 220 thousand tons of coal in stock, which is entirely insufficient to ensure the country's energy security.”

According to him, the power system survived the last “frosty” week thanks to the increase in electricity imports from Belarus. On January 18-24, it increased from 6.3 to 9.4 million kWh per day.

Simultaneously, the transmission capacity between the two countries' energy systems is insufficient to meet the needs of Ukraine. So, it is 900 MW, and Ukraine's import demand is estimated at 1.5 GW.

“Without sufficient coal supplies, it will be possible to balance either by switching to natural gas combustion or by switching off consumers,” Zaichenko said.

To recap, NEURC will check thermal power plants to ensure the necessary fuel reserves.

As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers will decide on compensation to households that use electric heating.