KIEV, November 7 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine has resumed power supplies to Russia, the former Soviet state's Fuel and Energy Ministry said Tuesday.
Ukraine was to supply electricity to Russia from December 2004 to July 2006, but the arrangement broken down in July 2005 over a pricing dispute, when Ukraine nearly doubled its price. However, a new deal with Russia, which is experiencing a generating capacity shortfall, was signed in late October.
"Electric power is being supplied in line with an agreement signed between [Russia's power export and import operator] Inter RAO UES and [Ukraine's] Ukrinterenergo October 25, 2006," the ministry said.
Under the 2006-2007 agreement, Ukraine is to supply 200-800 mWt of electric power a month to Russia, where a cold spell last winter seriously strained power grids and rising energy consumption this year created a generating capacity shortfall.
Ukraine's government made the decision to restart exports November 3 after studying fuel and electricity consumption forecasts in the country in the fourth quarter of 2006 and in 2007, the ministry said.
The agreement between Inter RAO UES, the Russian electricity monopoly Unified Energy System's subsidiary, which also runs assets in Russia and abroad, and the state-owned Ukrainian electricity company also outlines joint exports to other countries and other projects.
The former Soviet allies also agreed to resume electricity transits from the UES-run hydro power plant in Moldova to Russia via Ukraine, implement joint investment projects, and make further efforts to unify power grids in the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Baltic countries, and Europe's Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE).
