Photo from UNIAN
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) is to consider urgent actions to neutralize the threat to the country's energy security as well as the issue of the blockade of the occupied areas of Donbas on Thursday, February 16, Ukrainian President said at a ceremonial meeting dedicated to the Day of honoring the troops who fought on foreign land, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
"Today, the National Security Council will consider the [issue of the] energy blockade," Petro Poroshenko's press secretary Svyatoslav Tsegolko quoted Ukrainian President as saying.
Poroshenko noted that the decisions on diversification of coal supplies would be made as well.
Read alsoUkraine says state of emergency on electricity market to be month-longAs UNIAN reported earlier, in late January a group of ATO veterans along with a few members of parliament initiated a blockade of rail tracks used to transport deficient anthracite coal from the temporarily uncontrolled areas to Ukraine’s thermal power stations. According to the government report, the supplies were suspended February 10, 2017. The operator of Ukraine’s united power grid, Ukrenergo, said that anthracite coal reserves (842,000 tonnes as of Feb 12) would be exhausted within 40 days.
Read alsoUkraine decides to impose state of emergency on electricity marketCiting a threat to continued energy supplies to the industries, the Cabinet at its extraordinary meeting February 15 decided to introduce a state of emergency on the electricity market, providing for cuts in consuming anthracite coal to ensure stable operations of the country’s energy grid.