Skip to main content
  • Share to or

Russia’s expenses for supplying electricity to Luhansk estimated at $53 million annually

Source: Vedomosti

Russia will spend about 3 billion rubles (approximately $53 million) a year to supply electricity to the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, said the head of Russia’s Energy Development Foundation Sergei Pikin.

He noted that the republic would require about 400 megawatts of power a year, i.e. about 2 billion kilowatt-hours. One kilowatt-hour costs one and a half rubles on Russia’s wholesale electricity market.

Pikin also suggested that no energy company would take on the task of supplying electricity to the self-proclaimed republic for fear of being subjected to Western sanctions. According to the Pikin, such costs would, therefore, have to be written off as losses for any provider.

Russia’s only electric power exporter Inter RAO has stated that it has had nothing to do with connecting the republic to Russia’s electricity networks.

On April 25, Vladimir Putin’s plenipotentiary representative for Ukraine Boris Grizlov announced that Russia would provide electricity to the Luhansk People’s Republic, deeming the measures “humanitarian support”.

On the night of April 25, Ukraine stopped supplying electricity to the areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk, as the later had ceased paying for these services and had accumulated a total debt of about 200 million dollars.

  • Share to or