Centrenergo’s Uglegorsk recovery costs accelerate
16 July 2013
Centrenergo (CEEN UK) has selected a contractor for restoration work for its Uglegorsk thermal power plant (TPP), damaged by fire in late March. The total contract value is UAH 198 mln, which includes the repair of the machine workshop building (UAH 118 mln) and control system (UAH 80 mln), according to the official state purchases bulletin, cited by local media.
Centrenergo is preparing to commission power units #1 and #4 that survived the fire by Dec. 1, 2013. In addition, the Interfax news agency, citing the same state purchases bulletin, reported on July 15 that Centrenergo announced a tender for a UAH 900 mln loan to rehabilitate power unit #2, which was most damaged in the fire.
Alexander Paraschiy: It looks like Uglegorsk TPP will become a significant burden for Ukraine’s electricity consumers, who are very likely to pay for its rehabilitation from their own pockets. At the moment, consumers are paying UAH 19-20 mln monthly (since May) to support the full staff of the damaged power plant, and most likely, they will also start paying to compensate (at least partially) the costs of servicing the UAH 900 mln credit line. And that’s just the beginning: so far, neither Centrenergo nor the Energy Ministry have disclosed the total costs of reconstructing Uglegorsk’s power units #2 and #3.
