Ukraine’s energy committee said the country stopped receiving thermal coal supply from Russia on November 1. Russia has also cut electricity export and reduced gas transit to Ukraine amid a deepening energy crisis ahead of the winter heating season. Ukraine is now pinning its hope on nuclear generation and planning to import coal from other suppliers to meet spiking heating demand in case of a harsh winter.
Ukrainian coal buyer DTEK said it had only 614,000 tons of coal in stock, four times lower than the year-ago level. This means that 17 thermal power plants and several combined-heat power plants might not be able to operate due to a fuel shortage. The government said the shortfall could be met by ramping up domestic output and imports from Poland, Kazakhstan, and South Africa.
