Ukraine Doubles Electricity Prices Amid Wartime Power Crisis

Ukraine's government will nearly double consumer electricity prices to fund repairs of the country's power infrastructure following intensified Russian bombardments. The move is deemed necessary to restore power generation and distribution systems severely damaged by air strikes, despite the economic hardship it imposes on citizens.

Ukraine's government will nearly double consumer electricity prices from Saturday to help it fund a repair of the country's power infrastructure following intensified Russian bombardments, officials said. The Ukrainian power sector has been severely damaged by Russian air strikes during more than 27 months of the war. Over the last two months, Russia stepped up the attacks, knocking out the bulk of Ukraine's thermal and hydropower generation, causing blackouts, and pushing electricity imports to record highs. "Raising the tariff is a difficult but necessary step. The objective is not to be left without power, to maintain the system," Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Friday.

"A large-scale reconstruction is ahead of us, it will require enormous efforts and funds. During all this time, the repair campaign at generating, distributing, and transmission facilities is underway." The energy ministry said in a statement that electricity tariffs for households were set at 4.32 hryvnias ($0.107) per kilowatt-hour until April 30, 2025.

The previous tariff was 2.64 hryvnias. An average consumer would pay about 285 hryvnias ($7) more on its monthly electricity bill after the increase, the government estimated.

Raising utility tariffs during the war has been a highly sensitive topic for the government as poverty rates have soared, with many Ukrainians losing their jobs, fleeing their homes for safer areas, and facing a higher cost of living. The World Bank estimates about a third of the Ukrainian population now lives in poverty.

Galushchenko said the previous tariff level covered only about a third of the electricity value and the government could not afford to keep it given the scale of the damage. The Russian attacks have resulted in more than $1 billion of damage to the power sector, officials have said.

In an explanatory note, the government said that Ukraine had lost 6.33 gigawatts of generating capacity and faced an electricity deficit on working days. The Ukrainian government is cash-strapped, channelling most of its revenue for defence efforts and relying on Western financial aid to be able to meet its social and humanitarian spending.