Page 64 - UKRRptAug20

will not match price. Top domestic destinations are: Odesa – 30%; and Zakarpattia – 30%. The survey of 1,200 users of the online travel service was conducted June 19-24, largely before the big floods in Zakarpattia.
Turkey hopes 100,000 Ukrainians will visit Antalya in July, ​down from 145,000 in July 2019, Interfax-Ukraine reports from Antalya Airport. Ukrainian groups go to Turkish hotels that follow Covid containment practices, says Nurkhan Kaplan, deputy director of local partner of Coral Travel. Yesterday, the online arrival board of Antalya Airport showed flights arriving from Germany, Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Switzerland. There were nine flights from Germany and nine flights from Ukraine -- from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Odesa. Tourists planning to fly to Turkey need health insurance to cover Covid treatment.
Ukraine’s beach resorts – on the Black Sea and Azov Sea – are booming this summer​, Vodaphone Ukraine reports citing movements of 4G users. “Judging by the increase in Internet traffic and the number of 4G users, in general, domestic tourism in Ukrainian sea resorts in Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions has grown by 30% compared to the same weekend last year,” Vodaphone says, referring to Constitution Day weekend. In Donetsk region, tourism booms in three Azov beach towns in the 50 km stretch from the frontline city of Mariupol to Zaporizhia oblast. From west to east, Vodaphone reports 4G users are up: 101% in Urzuf; 124% in Yalta (Donetsk); and 117% in Bilosaraiska Kosa.
9.1.9 ​Utilities sector news
Ukraine’s electricity consumption fell during the first half of this year by 5%​ compared to the first half of last year, reports Ukrenergo, the state-owned electricity transmission system operator. Household consumption was down only 2.9%. But industrial consumption was down 6.2%. Of this, transport was down 16.4% and machine building was down 20%.
Ukrenergo’s Guaranteed Buyer, or GarPok, heads toward bankruptcy, ​the agency owes $628mn to solar and wind energy producers. With some debts dating back to February, the power purchasing agency has paid 27% of its bills to private solar and wind companies and 58% of its bills to the state nuclear and hydro power producers
9.1.10 ​Renewables sector news
The installed capacity of renewable energy facilities today is 7 GW. ​This figure excludes large hydroelectric power plants, renewable energy facilities in the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine -- 637 MW -- and small solar power plants of private households - 618 MW. Today, renewables account for 8% of Ukraine’s power, but 26% of the national power bill. Defenders of green power say Ukraine’s power bill does not reflect the hidden, long term costs of power -- dismantling nuclear reactors and re-building aging hydroelectric dams.
Parliament approves bill reducing green energy rates. ​Ukraine’s parliament approved on July 21 a bill in the second reading to reduce and restructure the state-mandated electricity prices from green energy.
The new law includes a repayment schedule for what is growing toward $1bn
64​ UKRAINE Country Report​ August 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com