The debt of electricity buyers to the national energy company Ukrenergo has reached UAH 42 billion. The accumulation of debts hinders the development of generating capacities, said Vladislav Sokolovsky, Chairman of the Board of the Solar Energy Association of Ukraine. This was reported by the RBC-Ukraine agency.
“The situation on the balancing market (BM) continued to deteriorate at the beginning of 2026. The total debt of market participants to NPC Ukrenergo reached a critical UAH 42 billion,” Sokolovsky said.
He noted that the amount of debt is growing by about UAH 1 billion monthly. Ukrenergo's debt to generating companies, according to expert data, exceeds UAH 30 billion.
“The impact of these numbers on the industry is devastating. Debts on the BR are money literally washed out of the turnover of producers, which could have been used for restoration, including generation,” Sokolovsky emphasized.
He noted that the sharpest blow falls on renewable energy and flexible generation.
“This is a paradox: Ukraine declares a critical need for flexibility in the system, but it is those who provide this flexibility who are left without money,” the head of the association emphasized.
In his opinion, critical infrastructure enterprises should receive direct subsidies from the government to avoid debt for consumed electricity. Payment discipline in the energy market can stop the accumulation of debts, Sokolovsky noted.
“Only by stopping the emergence of new debts will we be able to attract financing to cover the old ones. These steps must be implemented over the next few months. Otherwise, the energy system will enter next winter with a financial gap that cannot be bridged by any loans, which will lead to irreversible degradation of networks and generation,” the expert concluded.
