The defense party in the Rotterdam + case filed a motion to close the proceedings tied to the findings of forensic experts confirming the validity of the formula, the absence of economic damage and losses for electricity consumers, the lawyer of the DTEK group Natalya Drygval told Interfax-Ukraine.
“When determining the price, factors such as the API-2 index, the cost of transportation from the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp to Ukrainian ports, the cost of transporting coal from a vessel to warehouses of Ukrainian ports, the cost of transporting coal by rail through Ukraine were correctly included,” said lawyer, referring to the examination.
According to Drigval, the forensic expert also confirmed that the National regulator, by approving the “Procedure for Forming the Forecasted Wholesale Market Price of Electric Energy” in 2016, ensured the transparency of the mechanism for pricing electricity.
“The adoption of the Order did not lead to an increase in the profitability of coal mining enterprises and thermal power plants of Ukraine above the average level of the coal and energy industries,” she stressed on the basis of the examination.
The lawyer claims that similar results were obtained by SAP investigators, but were not included in the case. The findings, according to the lawyer, are an exhaustive basis for the closure of criminal proceedings.
At the end of April 2016, the state regulator began applying a new procedure for generating the forecast wholesale market price (ORC) for electricity, which affects the establishment of electricity tariffs for industrial consumers (Resolution No. 289 of March 3, 2016). The procedure, in particular, determines the price of coal according to the formula “cost in the port of Rotterdam (API2) plus the cost of delivery to Ukraine” (“Rotterdam +”).
On March 24, 2017, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) opened a criminal proceeding, in which it investigates the actions of the National regulator members who approved the Rotterdam + formula. On July 1, 2019, a new model of the electricity market was launched, in connection with which the previous principles of pricing, including the Rotterdam + formula, ceased to exist, but the investigation of the NABU is ongoing, and the case began to be heard in the courts.
