The Government of Ukraine has allocated funds for the coal purchase and payments in the energy market. Blackouts can occur only in case of damage to electric lines due to weather conditions, emphasised Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk in the Ten Minutes program on Sunday, 10 January.

The Prime Minister underlined the Government managed to provide the largest producer of electric power in Ukraine, the state-owned company Energoatom, with nuclear fuel.

The Government succeeded to diversify the supply of nuclear fuel, Arseniy Yatsenyuk said: "If previously we were completely dependent on the Russian Federation, now part of the nuclear fuel you buy from the American company Westinghouse».

The second electricity producer requires coal reserves: "At this stage we have enough reserves of coal. And everything hinges on further coal supplies to the Ukrainian stations".

"The Government has allocated funds for the coal purchase and payments in the energy market. Therefore, blackouts of electricity can only take place in those settlements where electrical lines are damaged due to weather conditions," stressed Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

The Prime Minister highlighted that he put this issue on special control of each head of a region, district and city at the meeting of the Interdepartmental operative response headquarters of the State Commission for technogenic and ecological safety and emergencies.

He appealed to representatives of local government of local leaders: "Communicate with people. It's your job. Explain to people how you can re-count rate, how you can use social norm of gas in order to restore heat and electricity, who is responsible for clearing the snow, because it is the direct responsibility and competence of the local authorities."

"If everyone does his/her job, then our country will have heat and electricity, and subsidies will be properly issued, and the snow will be cleared. The country will develop. And we’ve got a lot of such common issues," added Arseniy Yatsenyuk.