The Government will support the development of hydropower industry of Ukraine and increasing of its proportion in the balance of electricity generation of the country aimed to achieve energy independence and boost of the national economy. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said in his opening statement at a meeting on the energy potential of the United Power System of Ukraine in the framework of his working trip to Chernivtsi region on Friday, June 10.

"The task on the agenda today for the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, for the Government, for your enterprise is to keep up and to do the utmost to modernize, construct new units, solve other issues of the technological process. I want to assure you of the Government’s support [of the development of hydropower industry – ed.]. We are keen to develop alternative energy. We are interested in making Ukraine truly energy independent", stressed Volodymyr Groysman during his visit to the Dniester PSPS in Novodnistrovsk.

The Prime Minister said that his visit to the Dniester Pumped Storage Power Plant was devoted to the launch of three generating units with capacity of 972 MW to join the national power grid. Overall, the share of hydropower industry in the electricity generation balance in Ukraine makes up 8.6%, said the Head of Government. However, in his opinion, this figure can be improved.

"The fact that we have today 8.6% of the proportion of hydropower industry in the balance is totally unfair. We should grow the production of this power. What we see today, is a strategic plan to develop the Ukrainian hydropower industry for the next ten years, and this proportion can be improved up to 15.5%", he said.

According to him, the Ukrainian hydropower "deserves overall assistance by the state both through the legislative framework and at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine".

The Prime Minister emphasized that the issue of energy security is an issue of national importance and must be realized by all branches of government.

Volodymyr Groysman noted that the Government had introduced certain measures towards achieving energy independence. Inter alia, after the introduction of a single gas price Ukraine switched to the purchase of gas from European markets, hence it received the market-based price. The single gas cost "provides an opportunity to root out corruption, to restore gas production in Ukraine, to introduce targeted and effective assistance and to develop energy conservation as a factor of Ukrainian independence", he urged. The Prime Minister also stressed: "We are not buying Russian gas today at all".

"When we consume efficiently, produce high quality electricity and will have our domestic production, which used to have been destroyed, we will become a completely energy independent state", said Volodymyr Groysman.

In turn, the development of energy efficiency and energy independence will spur boost of the national economy and growth of competitiveness. "Actually, we can improve our country not through idle talk, but developing our national economy", summed up the Prime Minister.