Page 66 - UKRRptDec21

First of 7 ships carrying emergency coal deliveries arrives in Odesa n November 20. The ship brought 60,000 tons of thermal coal from the U.S. to Odesa’s Pivdennyi Port on Nov. 20, energy company DTEK announced. DTEK, owned by Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov, chartered seven ships to deliver 470,000 tons of emergency coal to cover a national shortage. The shipments will go to plants owned by DTEK and the state-owned company Centrenergo. Due to the shortage, 21 power blocks at Ukraine’s coal plants could not operate as of Nov. 21. Earlier President Volodymyr Zelensky promised that “nobody will be left without power or heat” this winter. These shipments will bring anthracite coal stocks back to normal. Until then, many power plants will operate in austerity mode.
The United States will help Ukraine build 14 new power units at nuclear power plants. Energoatom and the US industrial giant, Westinghouse, will sign bilateral agreements on implementing a project to build new power units at the Khmelnytskyi NPP using AP1000 technology announced Energoatom. Negotiations between Energoatom and the American side have been going on in recent months. Based on their results, drafts of the first bilateral agreements on implementing the project to construct two new power units were prepared.
President Zelenskiy said on Facebook Monday night: “There will be no shortage, but there will be seven Panamax ships, which are already heading and will arrive in Ukrainian ports in the near future.” To provide electricity, three more nuclear reactors go on line this month. To save power, he recommended turning off TV channels that warn of blackouts this winter: “A simple tip: to avoid hearing false tales about turning off the lights, turn off the sound on some false channels, or better yet - do not watch at all. It will save nerves and electricity."
Prior to Russia’s Nov. 1 ban on anthracite coal sales to Ukraine, Russia was the source of two thirds of Ukraine’s imported coal,the State Customs Service reported yesterday. Through October, Ukraine’s sources of coal were: Russia – 65.5%, for $1.1 billion; US — 18.5%, for $322.3 million; and Kazakhstan – 11.2%, for $195 million. Last year, Ukraine bought 60% of its coal from Russia. About 10 days ago, Russian Railways started to block coal shipments from Kazakhstan to Ukraine.
Ukraine imports up to 2% of its total electricity needs today from Belarus, Interfax-Ukraine reports, interpreting data posted last night on the website of ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators. Ukraine can receive today 9,200 MWh. During the last week in October, Ukraine’s average daily power consumption was 432,300 MWh, according to Ukrenergo, the state power transmission company. Traditionally an electricity exporter, Ukraine has closed several power plants due to a lack of coal.
With coal stocks low, only three of Centrenergo’s 24 thermal power plants were running on November 15, reports Ukrenergo. To get through the winter, the Energy Ministry plans to rely heavily on Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants.
To boost domestic coal production, the Energy Ministry hiked the price of thermal coal by 63% on Friday, to $134 a ton, according to the Ukrainian Energy Exchange website. On Tuesday, DTEK CEO Maksym Tymchenko said he
66 UKRAINE Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com