MOSCOW, June 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia and Ukraine have agreed that the price of electric power supplies to Crimea, which recently became part of Russia, will amount to $99.5 (3,420 rubles) per megawatt-hour in the period from June 1 to December 31, business daily Vedomosti reported on Friday.
The daily cited an executive at a Russian power enterprise, an official at the Crimean government, and an official at the Energy Ministry. The scheme of power supplies was not disclosed.
Earlier, a source close to the Energy Ministry said that Inter RAO’s settlement center will buy electric power from Ukrainian power company Krymenergo and resell it to end consumers in Crimea. Inter RAO declined to comment.
A source close to the Crimean government said that power will be supplied on condition of a two-month prepayment, while the Energy Ministry’s representative insists that there will be no prepayment.
The Crimean price is significantly higher than the price of Ukrainian supplies to other countries, Vedomosti said. The price for Hungary, Belarus, and Moldova in 2013 varied from $55 to $71.4 per megawatt-hour, or around 1,900-2,500 rubles per megawatt-hour. The higher price for Crimea is caused by political reasons, the Crimean government’s official said.
Before June 1, Ukraine supplied power to Crimea at a lower price, with an average tariff for consumers standing at 1.5 rubles per kilowatt-hour, and the Russian government promised to keep this price by subsidizing power purchases for the region. The preliminary estimate of necessary subsidies amounts to 8 billion rubles, a source close to the Energy Ministry said.