---
title: "Debts on the Balancing Market Block Investments: Expert Explains What Needs to Change"
description: "Multi-billion debts on Ukraine's balancing market block investments in energy storage and flexible generation due to consumers protected from disconnections."
date: 2026-09-30T15:46:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/debts-on-balancing-market-block-investments
tags: [energy-market, debts, investments, ukraine, balancing-market]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Debts on the Balancing Market Block Investments: Expert Explains What Needs to Change

![Energy infrastructure and power transmission lines at sunset](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/30/dolgi-na-balansiruyushchem-ryinke-blokiruyut-investitsii/dolgi-na-balansiruyushchem-ryinke-blokiruyut-investitsii-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Multi-billion debts on the balancing market are caused by consumers who cannot be disconnected for non-payment.
- The liquidity crisis blocks investments in energy storage and flexible generation.
- Solving the problem requires financial clearing and an audit of protected consumers.

Multi-billion debts on the balancing market continue to accumulate due to consumers who cannot be disconnected even for non-payment. As a result, electricity is consumed, but money for it is not received, and the debt spreads further across the energy market.

### Liquidity Crisis and Its Impact on Energy Sector

According to Andrian Prokip, head of energy programs at the NGO "Ukrainian Institute of the Future," such a system drains money from energy companies and creates a deep liquidity crisis. It becomes harder for companies not only to make current settlements but also to attract funds for new energy storage systems and peak-load generation, which are critically needed to balance the power system.

"The presence of consumers protected from disconnections generates multi-billion debts on the balancing market. This liquidity crisis actually makes it impossible to attract investments in critically needed energy storage systems and high-maneuverability capacities," Prokip noted.

### Contradictory Data

While experts from the Institute of the Future emphasize a systemic audit of protected consumer categories, other market participants point out that debts are formed unevenly. For instance, Ukrenergo's debts to balancing market participants have already reached 32 billion UAH, while industry specialists like former Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev emphasize that the problem lies in the market architecture itself, and Hennadiy Riabtsev points to specific defaulters such as water utilities that fuel the overall chain of non-payments.

### Ways to Solve the Debt Crisis

According to experts, the problem cannot be solved solely by raising tariffs or shifting costs to other market participants. It is necessary to repay already accumulated mutual debts and simultaneously block the mechanism for generating new debt through financial clearing with a targeted tranche.

"Solving the debt crisis on the balancing market requires the immediate implementation of financial clearing between participants and a cardinal audit of the list of protected consumers to stop generating new non-payments," the expert emphasized, proposing a comprehensive approach to healing the energy market.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Долги на балансирующем рынке блокируют инвестиции: эксперт объяснил, что нужно изменить](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/borgi-balansuyuchomu-rinku-blokuyut-investitsiyi-1790783001.html) - Заявление Андриана Прокипа о кризисе ликвидности и защищенных потребителях.
- [Долги на рынке электроэнергии Украины выросли до критического уровня, – Прокоп](https://www.obozrevatel.com/ekonomika-glavnaya/dolgi-na-ryinke-elektroenergii-ukrainyi-vyirosli-do-kriticheskogo-urovnya-prokop.htm) - Данные о росте критических неплатежей в энергосистеме.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Why do debts accumulate on the balancing market?
**A:** Debts accumulate due to consumers whom the law prohibits from being disconnected from power supply even in the absence of payment.

### Q: How do these debts affect the energy system?
**A:** They create a liquidity crisis, making it impossible to attract investments in new energy storage systems and maneuverable capacities.