The problem of the "green tariff" led to the fact that the state-owned "Ukrenergo" was forced to attract external loans before the war and now risks being in a state of default due to the inability to pay these obligations. Economist and member of the Economic Discussion Club Oleg Pendzyn stated this.
"Green tariffs" were politically motivated, which, according to the expert, is beyond doubt. However, these tariffs were, in fact, financed at the expense of electricity consumers, which led to the accumulation of significant debts. After the start of the war in Ukraine, the situation with debt repayment, which Ukrenergo took under government guarantees to cover "green" obligations, became critical.
"Ukrenergo can avoid default through agreements with partners, but the problem of the 'green tariff' still needs to be solved," said Pendzyn.
He also emphasized that the tariffs for new facilities, introduced after the year before last, are practically no different from the usual ones. The problem lies in the debts that have accumulated due to the tariffs adopted in the first years of their existence. The expert emphasized that the decision regarding this situation should be made at the state level.
It will be recalled that before the war, Ukrenergo took out an external loan of $825 million under government guarantees to repay debts to private producers under the "green tariff". These funds were used to pay out 22 billion hryvnias, which is ten times more than the company spent on protecting its facilities during the war.
On November 9, "Ukrenergo" must return 119 million dollars, or almost 5 billion hryvnias, under the "green" loan. The situation causes alarm among experts and calls into question the financial stability of the company.
