Energoatom May Halt Electricity Exports To Russia

The National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) required Energoatom to increase its export price for electricity to Russia from 14 USD/MWh to 24 USD/MWh starting on July 1, 2005. However, the Russian importer refused to buy electricity at this price, as the exports price is fixed in at 14USD/MWh until the end of 2005. Concorde Capital: As a result of this conflict, exports to Russia will likely be stopped. According to Energoatom, exports from Ukraine to Russia allowed the latter to utilize an additional 700 MW of nuclear capacity. If exports are cancelled, these 700MW will be idle so the problem of underutilized electricity capacity in Ukraine will increase. Reduced demand for Ukrainian electricity could also negatively affect the utilization of other Ukrainian power producers.