Volunteering squads block trading with occupied territories

UKRAINE - In Brief 30 Jan 2017 by Dmytro Boyarchuk
Last week volunteering squads started trade blockade of occupied territories of Eastern Donbas. Unlike previous efforts this time it looks like the story might be much more serious. The point is that new effort to stop trading with Eastern Donbas was undertook amid growing irritation about huge heating bills and electricity bills. New tariffs are among the top issues discussed in media and social nets. Against this backdrop the fact that Ukraine pays Russia-backed separatists for coal (so called Rotterdam+ scheme) – fell on good soil. Here I need to say few words about Rotterdam+. At the start 2016 the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) approved quite dubious decision. The NEURC set price for coal equal to price at the port of Rotterdam plus transportation costs. Seemingly nothing bad unless the fact that none imports coal from Rotterdam but from occupied territories. The scheme was widely criticized publicly. Rotterdam+ was the main reason for substantial electricity tariffs' increase for businesses through 2016. The scheme was organized by close friend of President Poroshenko Igor Konenko – the guy who was publicly blamed in corruption by former Minister of economy Ayvaras Abromavichus. Coal supplies from ‘Rotterdam’ go to Centrenergo, state-owned company, and in this context there is no surprise why the Cabinet one more time postponed privatization of Centrenergo till 2018. So, media and many Ukrainians are aware about Rotterdam+ (this story was widely discussed through 2016). In this context volunteering squads stopped trains with coal from Eastern Donbas. In response, the authorities started talking about energy security in the mid of wint...

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