The Fuel and Energy Ministry of Ukraine should maximally increase the share of the energy field in paying for steam coal to minimize subsidies from the national budget and pay a debt of UAH 1 billion for coal by the end of 2009, Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko has said.
“There is the need to find any possibility including long-term credits to pay the debt,” Tymoshenko said at an enlarged meeting on the issues of the coal sector in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Tymoshenko said that in the conditions of the 10-15% fall in demand for electricity amid crisis energy companies came to help the coal industry and increased steam coal reserves, which currently exceed the last year level by 1.5 million tonnes.
