Hiking electricity tariffs for households was not aimed at restoring infrastructure, but at creating a multi-billion hryvnia slush fund for corrupt schemes.
As reported by Hvylya, Oleh Popenko, head of the Consumer Utilities Union and a housing and utilities expert, made these claims during an appearance on Yuriy Romanenko’s channel.
According to the expert, the corruption scandal at Energoatom is merely the tip of the iceberg. The real driver behind soaring utility bills is collusion between the regulator and the leadership of state-owned enterprises.
The 'Accumulation' Scheme
Popenko argues that the scheme's architects realized they lacked sufficient funds for large-scale embezzlement, prompting them to strike a deal with the NEURC (regulator) to raise rates.
"The scheme was primitive but effective: raise tariffs for the population to accumulate funds within Energoatom, then divert them into corrupt channels. We are talking about roughly 460 billion hryvnias. The lion's share was intended for purchasing dubious Bulgarian-Russian reactors," Popenko noted.
The expert emphasized that to execute this plan, loyalists were installed in the NEURC through sham competitions.
60 Billion They 'Didn't Have Time to Steal'
As proof that tariff revenue is not being used for urgent energy needs, Popenko cited data from Andriy Gerus, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy.
"Today Gerus admitted: Energoatom has accumulated 60 billion hryvnias that the company essentially does not need. These are funds that could have been directed to the budget or taxes. Instead, they are sitting as dead weight. Why? Because they simply didn't have time to 'saw' (embezzle) them. The supervisory board fled, the financial plan wasn't updated, and the 60 billion remained," the expert stressed.
Kudrytskyi's 'Golden Parachute' and the Ukrenergo Crisis
The broadcast also focused on former Ukrenergo CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi. Popenko criticized the exorbitant wartime salaries of the state company's top management and the official's suspicious transition to the private sector immediately after his dismissal.
"The man was a bureaucrat and became a businessman with a 50% stake in a project with a three-year payback period. The question arises: did Kudrytskyi sign documents allocating capacity to future partners while still in office? This is a classic conflict of interest: a civil servant becomes an oligarch's partner and bears no responsibility," Popenko stated.
He also pointed to salaries within Kudrytskyi’s circle, where some deputies received up to 20 million hryvnias a month by holding positions in multiple structures.
In Popenko’s view, maintaining the electricity market in its current form during the war is a crime against the economy. Constant hikes in tariffs and price caps are driving both households and businesses into debt.
"The state allows miracles to happen in this market. But during the war, this market is killing the economy. The logical solution would be to legislatively suspend the electricity market until the end of martial law and for six months thereafter. You cannot strip people of their last assets while hiding behind reforms that serve as a screen for siphoning off billions," the expert added.
We previously wrote about who is profiting from Ukrainians via electricity tariffs.