Guaranteed Buyer may direct DTEK-earmerked money to Energoatom

An appeals court in Kyiv ruled on Nov. 22 to charge
UAH 4 bln from state company Guaranteed Buyer (GarPok) in favor of state
nuclear producer Energoatom, GarPok reported the same day. If the ruling is enforced,
funds may be written off from GarPok accounts, part of which were reserved for
payments to renewable energy producers, it stated. The company is calling on
Energoatom for a peaceful resolution of the issues related to GarPok’s debt.

Recall, GarPok failed to pay to DTEK Renewables
(DTEREN) UAH 3 bln, which was a part of UAH 19.3 bln that state company
Ukrenergo (NPCUKR) transferred to GarPok in order to partially repay GarPok’s
debt to renewable energy producers. Namely, GarPok reported on Nov. 17 that it
ordered state Oschadbank (OSCHAD) to stop money transfers to renewable
producers and return the unallocated money (UAH 3.04 bln) back to GarPok on
Nov. 15. According to DTEK Renewables, it was the only green energy producer
that had received no money from the UAH 19.3 bln Ukrenergo/GarPok transfer.

Alexander Paraschiy: All the
above looks like a deliberate action to enable the transfer to Energoatom the
money that had been earmarked for DTEK Renewables. Interestingly, such a
scenario (money transfer from GarPok to Energoatom based on an upcoming ruling
of an appellate court) was described by Interfax-Ukraine on Nov. 15. Therefore,
GarPok’s calling for a compromise with Energoatom does not look sincere.

If GarPok “will have to pay” to Energoatom, it won’t
have enough funds to pay UAH 3 bln to DTEK Renewables, so the latter is
unlikely to receive this money from GarPok soon. Needless to say, such a trick,
which is very likely to be blessed by top Ukraine’s officials, is a violation
of agreements between the government and green energy producers, as well as a
violation of the Cabinet’s October resolution based on which it provided a state guarantee to Ukrenergo.
This development will only strengthen the perception of DTEK as “a victim of
the government’s outrageous behavior” and will improve its chance to be
compensated for the delay.

The payment delay itself won’t affect DTEK
Renewables’ liquidity and solvency, as other payments to the company from
GarPok are continuing on a pro-rata basis in line with other green energy
producers.