Rada introduces special accounts for heating payments, permits Naftogaz to sell gas debts

Payments for heating generated from natural gas supplied by national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy will be settled through special accounts opened in authorized banks, while Naftogaz Ukrainy will be able to sell the debt claims of consumers for natural gas.

Amendments to the law on stabilizing the financial state of Naftogaz Ukrainy (draft law No. 2214) was passed by the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, last week with 243 votes in favor, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported.

Heating supply and generating organizations producing or supplying heat to consumers in the amount of up to 18,000 gigacalories a year or for their own needs and companies to which economic operations on production, transportation and heating supply is not subject to licensing by the National Commission of Ukraine on Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER) are exempted from opening the special accounts.

The law allows gas supplies to be halted if heating supply and generating organizations violate payment terms for natural gas supplied and/or if they take gas without a monthly plan on gas supplies provided by the gas supplier under the agreement on gas supply. The Cabinet of Ministers will approve the procedure for halting gas supplies.

As for selling debts for gas by Naftogaz Ukrainy, MP Ihor Nasalik said in parliament while presenting the draft law that the amendment, according to which the claims in the amount of debts of the national and/or local budgets for the compensation of the difference in the heating tariffs cannot be sold, was made during the second reading of the bill.

Claims to debts will be sold at auction at a price that could differ from the initial cost if an independent audit of the consolidated financial report of Naftogaz Ukrainy under international financial reporting standards for 2014 is conducted and the auction procedure and its conditions are published.

Nasalik also said that the debt of heating supply and generating companies for natural gas consumed in 2014 is to be restructured by postponing payments for 24 months.

The restructuring can be conducted if the debt for gas consumed before January 1, 2014 is paid within three months from the moment of this law takes effect. The fines will be written off in this case.

The bill permits Naftogaz to be among the tender creditors with the sum of debt for gas as of May 1, 2015 even if the claims on debt were exceeded or not declared at all.

The law also reduces the time required to pay the debt by companies of the fuel and energy complex from January 1, 2016 to September 1, 2015 (the so-called moratorium on bankruptcy). An exception was made for National Nuclear generating Company Energoatom.