The Cabinet of Ministers has reduced the threshold for electricity imports for the operation of enterprises without outages to 60%

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved amendments to the Regulation on Peculiarities of Electricity Imports under the Legal Regime of Martial Law in Ukraine. The innovations are intended to create the preconditions for increasing electricity imports and strengthening the stability of the national energy system in the face of electricity shortages, according to a press release from the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.

The key point of the changes was the reduction of the threshold for electricity imports for companies wishing to operate without the risk of blackouts. Previously, it was necessary to import more than 80% of electricity from the consumption volume, but now this figure has been reduced to 60%.

According to Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko, the decision is a logical continuation of measures to strengthen the country’s energy security. He emphasized that the changes take into account the increase in the capacity limits for electricity imports from European countries to 2.1 GW.

“This will create additional incentives to attract more commercial electricity imports, allow us to develop our own generation and ensure greater resilience of the power system in the face of shortages,” the minister emphasized.

Previously, the system of restrictions did not apply to companies that imported at least 80% of electricity for their own needs. Now, thanks to the new limit, more companies will be able to access stable operation without the risk of outages.

As GMK Center reported earlier, on June 1, 2024, CMU Resolution No. 661 amended the above Regulation, which established a guarantee of electricity supply to domestic producers provided that 80% of imported electricity is used. Previously, this proportion was 30/70.

This decision caused a negative reaction from Ukrainian energy-intensive businesses, including metallurgy, cement and other industries, as the provision of this import rate led to a sharp increase in demand and, consequently, electricity prices. Industry associations proposed to reduce the share of the minimum electricity imports to 50% to maintain competitiveness and efficiency both in the domestic and foreign markets.

Read more in the article by GMK Center.