Anthracite coal stocks at Ukrainian TPPs shrink by 10% within week

Stocks of anthracite coal at Ukrainian thermal power plants (TPP) shrank by 10% on August 2-8, 2018, to 249,000 tonnes.

At the same time, the stocks of gas coal decreased by 0.6%, from 987,000 tonnes to 981,000 tonnes, the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry's press service said.

In general, coal stocks at Ukraine's TPPs fell by 2.8% over the week, to 1.229 million tonnes.

As UNIAN reported earlier, production of thermal and coking coal in Ukraine declined by 14.6% in 2017 against 2016, to 34.916 million tonnes, according to the ministry.

Read alsoCoal imports on rise in Ukraine

UNIAN memo. Hostilities in the eastern regions of Ukraine have caused a significant shortage of coal, primarily that of thermal anthracite group produced in militant-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The energy companies began to transfer the thermal power plants' units from anthracite to gas coal feeding. However, there has been a shortage of the latter since the output of gas coal did not keep pace with its consumption growth. To solve the problem, the companies signed contracts for coal imports from South Africa and the United States.