The state-owned company Guaranteed Buyer (GarPok)
reported on Nov. 29 that it has directed a request to the Cabinet of Ministers
asking for further instructions on what to do with the UAH 3.04 bln received
from Ukrenergo that is being kept on GarPok accounts. This cash is part of the
UAH 19.3 bln payment received from Ukrenergo (NPCUKR) in November that should
have been directed to repay part of GarPok’s debt to renewable energy
producers. Also, GarPok asked the Cabinet to inform it about the result of the
inspection initiated after the firing of the previous GarPok top
manager in mid-November.
Recall, GarPok reported on Nov. 16 that it had ordered
a bank to stop paying UAH 19.3 bln to green producers and return the unpaid
amount back to its accounts, with only UAH 3.04 bln having been
returned. DTEK Renewables (DTEREN), Ukraine’s biggest green
energy producer, claimed that it was the only company that had not received any
money from the Ukrenergo/GarPok payments.
The same day, DTEK Renewables reported that it would
demand the criminal prosecution of the persons involved in the delay with the
payment of the Ukrenergo money. DTEK also reported that it had officially
informed GarPok of possible consequences of non-payment.
In related news, the top manager of GarPok, Vadym Ulida,
has filed a resignation request, the company reported on Nov. 30. Ulida was
appointed to the position on Nov. 15.
Alexander Paraschiy: GarPok’s
statement seems to be an attempt to transfer full responsibility to the Cabinet
for discriminating against DTEK Renewables. And so is Ulida’s resignation
request. In other words, Ulida is trying to avoid (a bit too late) the role of
being a weapon in the fight between DTEK owner Rinat Akhmetov and Ukrainian
president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The pressure from DTEK Renewables seems to be
working, and this increases the probability that the company will soon receive
its payment. As before, we believe the situation won’t affect DTEK Renewables’
ability to pay its accounts.