Blackout in Metinvest: Zaporizhstal Metallurgical Plant disconnected from electricity

The state monopoly Zaporozhyeoblenergo disconnected PJSC Zaporizhstal from electricity due to the plant's debt for consumed electricity in the amount of UAH 140 million, which arose due to the state's debt to PJSC Zaporizhstal for refunding value added tax in the amount of more than UAH 822 million ... Thanks to the competent technical actions of the plant's specialists, a complete shutdown of the plant and accidents were not allowed, there is no threat to the life and health of the plant's employees.

In this context, Rostislav Shurma, General Director of PJSC Zaporizhstal, said:

“We cannot allow a complete shutdown of the plant and leave the collective of the enterprise without wages, therefore we made a difficult decision. To the detriment of the implementation of the investment program for the ecological modernization of the sinter plant, we have withdrawn UAH 70 million from the budget of this project to partially repay the debt to Zaporozhyeoblenergo. This jeopardizes the timely installation of gas cleaning systems on sintering machines, but we have no other choice: the plant has no reserve funds left. As a result of this payment, the power supply of the plant was restored and now the production is working as usual. But this is not a solution to the problem - if the situation with VAT refunds does not change dramatically, the plant will find itself in a final impasse in the next 2 weeks: there will be nothing to pay salaries to people, there will be no funds for the modernization of production and even for current repairs.
A stalemate has developed when state authorities destroy operating enterprises, on the one hand, flushing out their circulating assets by non-refunding VAT, on the other, simultaneously demanding one hundred percent payments for the services of state monopolists. "

PJSC "Zaporizhstal" is the largest taxpayer in Ukraine and the Zaporozhye region. At the end of 2014, the plant transferred more than UAH 1.4 billion to the budgets of all levels, and for 10 months of 2015 - UAH 2.1 billion.