Ukraine quadruples domestic gas transit fees as Russian gas pipeline deal expires
Ukraine will increase gas transit tariffs for its domestic customers fourfold starting Jan. 1 when a deal to transport Russian gas through Ukrainian pipes expires, the National Energy Regulatory Commission said during a meeting on Dec. 30.
Russia has been paying Ukraine transport fees to carry its gas through underground Ukrainian pipelines as part of a 2019 deal between the two countries. Ukraine has repeatedly said that it will not extend the agreement when it expires at the end of this year.
During the meeting, the director of Ukraine's gas transit operator GTS Operator, Dmytro Lyppa, said that the Russian deal previously covered 85% of the operator's income from gas transit, according to reporting from Liga.net.
Lyppa also said that the tariff hike would not cover the full loss of income from the deal's expiry, and that the company was taking all possible measures to reduce its costs.
Many European countries have already sharply decreased their use of Russian gas following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but many countries, including Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria, still rely on Russian gas.
Last week, Slovakia threatened to cut electricity supplies to Ukraine if Ukraine goes through with its promise to halt Russian gas transit.
