European, U.S. energy companies interested in privatization in Ukraine – energy minister

 Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Volodymyr Demchyshyn told reporters that large companies, like  Chevron, Shell, ExxonMobil, ЕNI and RWE, are looking at possibilities of taking part in the privatization of Ukrainian assets.  They are interested in the privatization of Energoatom, Ukrhydroenergo and the gas transportation system, as well as of electricity distribution, regional electricity supply companies, regional gas supply companies and Centrenergo, Read more at http://en.interfax.com.ua

Fossil-Fuel Subsidies in the Crosshairs at World Bank Spring Meetings

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim made headlines on the eve of the annual spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund last week with this simple declaration: “We need to get rid of fossil fuel subsidies now.” With the consumption of these subsidies reaching $550 billion in 2013, there is a lot of work to be done. Cutting fossil-fuel subsidies is a logical component of the World Bank’s efforts to promote carbon pricing. Subsidies are, in effect, a negative carbon price that incentivizes carbon pollution at the very moment countries around the world need to reduce it. At the U.N. Climate Summit last September, the Word Bank built a coalition of 73 nations and 11 regional governments that expressed support for a price on carbon. More than 1,000 companies and investors signed on to the declaration as well.  Read more at https://www.americanprogress.org

European Commission support for Ukraine - Fact Sheet

The EU's relations with Ukraine are governed by an Association Agreement. This Agreement, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, was negotiated over the period 2007-2011 and initialed in 2012. On 21 March 2014 the EU and Ukraine signed the political provisions of the Association Agreement, underlining their joint commitment to proceed to the signature and conclusion of the remaining parts of the Agreement. On 8 January 2015, the European Commission, on behalf of the EU, proposed further macro-financial assistance to Ukraine of up to €1.8 billion in medium-term loans. It was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 15 April 2015. It can be implemented in the course of 2015, and in early 2016, and would be the third MFA programme for Ukraine since 2010. The European Commission has already disbursed €1.61 billion in support of Ukraine under two previous MFA programmes. A key objective of the EU support in the energy sector is to facilitate swift implementation of transparency and reforms in line with Ukraine's Energy Community and Association Agreement commitments.  Read more at http://europa.eu

EC on Russia - Ukraine - EU natural gas supply security

The EU Commission kicked off a fresh series of trilateral gas talks between Russia, Ukraine and the EU. The objective is clear – to agree, by June, on a successor to the “Winter 2014/2015 Package” for Ukrainian gas purchases from Russia. EU officials obviously prefer to sit at the table of any gas negotiations given that the EU receives about a third of its gas from Russia, with around half that amount crossing Ukraine based on 2013 IEA numbers.  Moreover, they like to reassure the public that transit gas flows to the EU will remain “unaffected”. Read more at http://theenergycollective.com

Should Canada be more involved in Ukraine?

Such involvement is inevitable, because politics and economy today are global, and a conflict elsewhere is no longer merely a regional concern. Even more so for Canada in Ukraine. Canada has a special place and meaning in Ukrainian national mythology.In the near future, Ukraine faces the widest range of possibilities. It has immense potential, but no social tools or expertise to utilize them. That is where Canada can and should play an important role. Read more at http://ottawacitizen.com

EU - Ukraine summit next week

Senior European Union officials travel to Kiev on Monday for their first formal Ukraine summit since the crisis with Russia broke last spring.On the European side, there are sharpened concerns that Ukraine’s commitments to internal change—economic and political—haven’t been followed through. They fear this will, over time, intensify Kiev’s economic woes and possibly stoke tensions with Russia again. Ukrainian officials are clear about their frustrations with the 28-nation bloc. The failure to advance toward visa-free access, open divisions within the EU over maintaining its sanctions on Russia and uncertainties about the EU’s determination to forge ahead with a bilateral trade pact in the face of Russian opposition are creating doubts about Europe’s commitment to Kiev.

Only one third of coal mines in Donbass are on territory controlled by Ukrainian government

More than 52 thousand people work at 35 mines under Ukrainian control (of 95 in total). No anthracite coal is produced at these mines. Most of coal is lower quality which can not be currently used as a fuel for major thermal power plants.  Read more at http://ua-energy.org

Deutsche Telekom invested in new electricity meter, created by Ukrainian inventors

Four Ukrainian inventors received prestigious award at CeBIT 2016 -Global Event for Digital Business in Hanover, Germany for presenting electricity meter which is able to measure electricity consumption of any home appliance. Deutsche Telekom invested in production facility in Kharkiv, which already manufactures meters for last nine months. Read more at http://ua-energy.org/

Ukraine’s Gas Market: A thorny way to liberalisation

On April 9th 2015, the Ukrainian parliament  adopted a new gas market law. The significance of this law for the Ukrainian energy sector and ultimately for the entire Ukrainian economy can hardly be overestimated. In fact, the European Commission has welcomed the new legislation as a powerful component of energy reforms in Ukraine. According to Janez Kopač, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, the newly adopted Ukrainian law is compliant with the EU’s Third Energy Package. The gas market law pursues two noteworthy objectives. Firstly, it is aimed at ensuring proper market functioning, meaning equal conditions for market players and non-discriminatory access to storage and transportation of natural gas. The second important objective is the implementation of EU laws in Ukraine and, ultimately, the establishment of a legal framework that enables integration of Ukrainian and EU energy markets. Read more at http://www.neweasterneurope.eu

European Commission: How to help Ukraine's Economy Reform and Grow

Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn in his Speech at Bertelsmann Stiftung event said that a better future for Ukraine can only be achieved through bold and urgent change.  The challenges in our Eastern neighborhood are a test of Europe's unity and resolve. But as in all such cases, it is above all Ukraine itself that must find the will and the courage to reform and reinvent itself.  In any case, the EU will be the key player supporting the necessary changes, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to speak to you today about how the EU is supporting Ukraine's transition. Read more at http://europa.eu

How much Ukrainians will pay for communal services?

Electricity and natural gas tariffs grew up starting from April 1, and water tariff will rise on May 1. For example, in Kyiv tariff for cold water after rise will be 7.46 Hryvnia (0.34 USD) per cubic meter and for hot water - 27.58 Hryvnia (1.24 USD) per cubic meter. Electricity cost for apartment buildings equipped with natural gas cooking ovens is 0.37 Hryvnia (0.0166 USD) per kW*hour, with consumption under 150 kW*hours per month. In apartments  without gas meter natural gas cost is 7.2 Hryvnia (0.32 USD ) per cubic meter. Read more at http://ua-energy.org/

IEA reviews energy policies of countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia

11 countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia that play a significant role in world energy security. Four of the countries – Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan – possess substantial oil and gas resources in the Caspian Sea, which offer game-changing potential for energy consumers in Europe and Asia. Other countries like Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus are important transit countries in the region, and their stability is paramount to energy security, the report said. The 11 countries – which also include Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan – are diverse politically and economically with distinct energy sector challenges. However, lack of long-term vision and planning is common across the region, and the countries must prioritise strategic energy policy development in order to build a more secure and sustainable future. Read more at http://www.iea.org

Costs of water and heat losses in Ukraine are 90 billion Hryvnia per year

This number is disclosed in  the press release of Ukrainian Federation  of Employers. 60% of water supply pipelines and over 35% of municipal  heating  systems require replacement or repair. Estimated amount of water leaks from obsolete  water supply pipelines exceeds 1 billion cubic meters per year. Read more at http://www.epravda.com.ua

Ukrainian goverment provided near half billion Hryvnia for energy efficiency and renewable energy

Minisry of Regional Development, Construction and Communal Services will manage the program which should be implemented in 2015. Significant part of funding will be spent on loan incentives and compensations to support improvement of thermal insulation of multistory residential buildings and replacement of obsolete low efficiency residential boilers. According to National Academy of Sciences improvement of buildings insulation can reduce the heat losses by 41%. Read more at http://economics.unian.ua

Past due debt of dstrict heating and industrial companies to NAFTOGAZ exceeds 20 billion Hryvnia

Energy utility KYIVENERGO is a biggest debtor with two billion Hryvnia of outstanding debt. Currently average level of payments by  district heating companies  for  consumed natural gas is 82%. Read more at http://ua-energy.org

Poland to give Ukraine loan for energy reforms and border control

Poland has extended a EUR 100 million loan to Ukraine, to help modernise its energy sector and improve border checkpoints. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko made the announcement late Wednesday during a joint briefing with his Polish counterpart Bronislaw Komorowski.  Read more at http://uatoday.tv

Ukraine challenges tenders that gave oligarchs control over key power companies

The legal actions targeted the 2012 and 2013 sell-offs of electricity-generating companies in eastern Ukraine and of a power distributor in the west of the country. State assets in Dniproenergo and Donbasenergo, which feed the national power grid, and one of the main power distributors in the Zakarpatya region, were sold off for low prices in non-competitive tenders in which only a few favoured participants took part, the general prosecutor's office said in a statement.Read more at http://uk.reuters.com

Not everyone is terrified of Ukraine's economic crisis

When thousands of mostly middle-class Ukrainians flocked to an open-air festival at an aviation museum here over the weekend, they did so in mock defiance of the economic crisis gripping their cash-strapped country.For the past year, Ukraine has been fighting a war with Moscow-backed insurgents and struggling to hold together a country still reeling from revolution. That's resulted in a sputtering economy almost entirely dependent on Western loans. But you wouldn't quite know it just by hanging around the country's capital Kyiv, the birthplace of last year's pro-democracy uprising and the cradle of Ukraine's fledgling middle class, which experts say makes up 14 percent of society. Read more at http://theweek.com/

The Big Mistake Ukraine Is Making on Energy

Due to the need to raise revenue to pay back the forthcoming International Monetary Fund’s $17.5 billion loan, the government of Ukraine has imposed exorbitant taxes on local oil and gas producers. The companies are forced by law to sell their output to the government-owned monopoly. Kiev’s new tax is a royalty, which taxes output sales, not just profits. The rates are 70% for state-owned companies; 55% on wells under 5,000 meters depth, and 35% on wells over 5,000 meters. This is hare-brained: The local production of oil and gas will be increasingly depressed, billions of dollars a year will continue flowing to Gazprom, and Ukraine will borrow from the IMF to pay Russia.  Read more at http://blogs.wsj.com

Energy Community and natural gas hub in Ukraine

Gas Expert  of Energy Community Karolina CEGIR discusses situation with implementation in Ukraine of the European Union's Third Energy Package which is a legislative package for an internal gas and electricity market in the European Union.  The Third Energy Package and draft new Law of Ukraine on natural gas market require reform and liberalization of existing market. Separation of natural gas production, transportation and distribution should become a key part of the reform. Read more at http://www.eurointegration.com.ua 

Electricity market reform - risks to avoid

Ukrainian electricity market still is a market with "single wholesale buyer" and  preparations now are going to convert it to competitive market according  to the Law adopted in October 2013. Based on world experience in electricity markets liberalization author analyses major risks related to market reforms, including cross subsidies and social injustice, luck of investments for technological modernization.  Read more at http://ua-energy.org

Germany ready to invest in Ukraine's energy efficiency

The issue of Ukraine's energy efficiency has been raised during the meeting between Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. German side can provide additional funds in the form of investment to support energy efficiency measures. It is not just a question of funds and providing material resources. It is a matter of engineering approaches to the implementation of these works. Now the parties are working on the elaboration of the model under which Ukraine will be able to accept those investments and ensure their return. Read more at http://www.nrcu.gov.ua

World Bank: 5 Ways to Reduce the Drivers of Climate Change

In a lecture to students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., on March 18, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim laid out five key areas where policies and growth choices can help reduce the drivers of climate change. “We have to keep the economy growing – there is no turning back on growth,” President Kim told the student audience. “What we have to do is decouple growth from carbon emissions.”  Read more at http://www.worldbank.org

New tariffs for communal services in Ukraine

Starting from April 1 tariffs for communal services in Ukraine grew up sharply.  Minimal natural gas tariff was increased to 3600 Hryvnia per 1000 cubic meters for residential sector and to 2934 Hryvnia for district heating companies.  Average heat tariff grew up to 537 Hryvnia per 1 Gcal. Tariff for electricity will be increased step by step and will reach 1.23 Hryvnia per 1 kW*hour in March 2017. Starting from April 1 tariff for electricity in residential sector is established at the level of 0.37 Hryvnia per 1 kW*hour. Read more at http://economics.unian.ua

Annual wolume of merchandise trade between Ukraine and Russia dropped by 43%

Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development and Trade considers  Russian aggressive foreign policy as main reason of trade decline between two countries. During his briefing Minister also said that negative balance of Ukrainian foreign trade was drastically reduced, from $13.5  billion in 2013 to under $0.5 billion in 2014.  EU became the biggest  trade partner of  Ukraine last year with share of 35.5%, CIS countries moved down to second place with share of 29%.
Read more at http://economics.unian.ua
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