The European Commission has launched an open tender for supplying coal to Ukraine for the production of electricity during the coming winter period. After completion of the tender process, the EC will sign contracts for the supply of 450,000 tons of coal to two power plants in the Donetsk and Vinnytsya oblasts.
The financing of these fuel supplies is provided by the European Union as part of the Tacis-funded Fuel Gap Programme in Ukraine. There is a double benefit to the implementation of the Fuel Gap Programme. Firstly, the European Union meets the costs related to the purchase of fuel for Ukrainian power plants. Secondly, the proceeds obtained from the sale of the electricity produced under the Programme are deposited into a special account, the use of which is subject to separate agreements between the European Commission and the Government of Ukraine. Under this programme the EU has funded the provision of financial, technical and institutional assistance to key areas such as the improvement of energy efficiency in the electricity and coal mining industry.
The Fuel Gap Programme implements the commitment to the Government of Ukraine undertaken by the European Commission in May, 1999 to make a substantial contribution towards covering some of the additional fuel needs of the Ukrainian power sector in the period between the closure of Chernobyl and the commissioning of the Rivne and Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plants.
With this third instalment, the Tacis-funded Fuel Gap Programme has contributed about ? 65 million since February 2001 towards meeting Ukraine’s additional energy needs brought about by the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear plant. The Fuel Gap Programme is the largest single supply grant from the European Union to any of the thirteen Partner States of the Tacis Programme.
For further information please contact Anje Schubert, Press Officer, at anje.schubert@cec.eu.int