Shortage of coal in warehouses to be covered with imports – energy minister

Minister of Energy German Galushchenko has said that the shortage of coal in the warehouses of Ukrainian thermal power plants and combined heat and power plants will be covered with imports.

"We are planning to cover the difference in the accumulation schedule with the imports, which we conduct. To date, contracts have been signed for the imports of about 4 million tonnes of coal," the minister said during the hour of questions to the Government held in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

Galushchenko added that in order to ensure the stable operation of the power system, nuclear generation will be involved as much as possible.

As reported, on the morning of October 18, 22 units of thermal power plants (TPPs) and combined heat and power plants (CHPPs) could not operate due to lack of fuel.

As of October 18, there were 752,900 tonnes of coal stocks in the warehouses of Ukrainian TPPs and CHPPs, which is 5.9% less compared to October 11.

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