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Ukraine almost doubles consumer electricity tariffs to assist power sector repair work

Ukraine's government will nearly double consumer electrical energy costs from Saturday to assist it money a repair work of the nation's power facilities following intensified Russian bombardments, authorities said. The Ukrainian power sector has actually been badly harmed by Russian air strikes during more than 27 months of the war. Over the last two months, Russia stepped up the attacks, knocking out the bulk of Ukraine's thermal and hydropower generation, causing blackouts, and pushing electrical power imports to tape highs.

Raising the tariff is a difficult but necessary action. The objective is not to be left without power, to keep the system, Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Friday.

A large-scale reconstruction is ahead of us, it will require huge efforts and funds. During all this time, the repair project at generating, distributing, and transmission centers is underway.

The energy ministry stated in a statement that electrical energy tariffs for households were set at 4.32 hryvnias ($ 0.107) per kilowatt-hour until April 30, 2025.

The previous tariff was 2.64 hryvnias.

A typical consumer would pay about 285 hryvnias ($ 7) more on its monthly electrical energy bill after the increase, the government approximated.

Raising energy tariffs throughout the war has actually been a highly sensitive subject for the government as hardship rates have actually soared, with many Ukrainians losing their jobs, leaving their homes for much safer locations, and facing a greater cost of living.

The World Bank estimates about a third of the Ukrainian population now lives in poverty.

Galushchenko stated the previous tariff level covered just about a 3rd of the electrical energy value and the federal government could not afford to keep it offered the scale of the damage.

The Russian attacks have actually led to more than $1 billion of damage to the power sector, authorities have actually said.

In an explanatory note, the federal government said that Ukraine had lost 6.33 gigawatts of producing capacity and faced an electricity deficit on working days.

The Ukrainian federal government is cash-strapped, channelling a lot of of its revenue for defence efforts and counting on Western financial assistance to be able to fulfill its social and humanitarian costs.

(source: Reuters)