According to Vinnytsiaoblenergo, household consumers who try to steal electricity will pay three times higher than usual – from UAH 6.03 to 8.79 per kWh.
In Ukraine, electricity consumers who violate the law and evade payment have begun to receive large-scale fines. Tariffs for stolen electricity have been tripled and now range from UAH 6.03 to UAH 8.79 per kWh, depending on the time of day. This was reported by Vinnytsiaoblenergo.
For comparison, the regular electricity tariff for household consumers is UAH 2.64 per kWh. Thus, a consumer will have to pay UAH 132 for 50 kWh that was paid for “by law”.
Oblenergo explained that previously, to assess losses from non-payment, a tariff was used to determine the cost of electricity for the consumer. Currently, this tariff has been replaced by a price that takes into account the cost of purchasing 1 kWh of electricity, as well as the cost of its distribution and transmission.
Tariffs for electricity transmission and distribution are fixed and are approved by the regulator (NERC). However, the average purchase price of electricity on the balancing market is determined after the fact and may change monthly.
Therefore, consumers who dare to steal electricity will not only be obliged to pay for all the electricity they use, but will also face fines.
“For household consumers, this price will be almost three times higher – not 2.64 UAH/kWh (the approved electricity tariff), but from 6.03 to 8.79 UAH/kWh,” the regional power company emphasized.
On April 6, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said that due to Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the government may raise electricity prices and call for electricity conservation. Such a measure is necessary to avoid blackouts this summer.
