---
title: "Ukraine's balancing market is sinking in debt: experts link the crisis to non-payments by water utilities and state mines"
description: "Experts link the accumulation of debt on Ukraine's balancing market to non-payments by water utilities and state mines. In their assessment, a tariff review will only slow the growth of debt, while legislative measures are needed for a solution."
date: 2026-09-15T14:02:02.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraine-balancing-market-debt-water-utilities-state-mines
tags: [balancing-market, ukraine-energy, electricity-debts, eu-integration]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Ukraine's balancing market is sinking in debt: experts link the crisis to non-payments by water utilities and state mines

![High-voltage transmission tower against the sky: a symbol of Ukraine's power grid, balancing market and the non-payment crisis](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/15/balansiruyushchiy-rynok-ukrainy-dolgi-vodokanalov-gosshaht/balansiruyushchiy-rynok-ukrainy-dolgi-vodokanalov-gosshaht-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Debts of water utilities (and, according to other sources, also state mines) flow onto the balancing market and accumulate there
- A tariff review will only slow the growth of debt but will not solve the accumulated problem
- A systemic solution requires legislative measures that the government planned to submit to parliament
- Debts on the balancing market are a barrier to integration with the European market and a factor deterring investors

The balancing market for electricity in Ukraine continues to accumulate debt, and, according to energy experts, one of the direct causes is the failure of certain consumers to settle their bills — in particular, water utilities. This was stated by energy expert Hennadii Riabtsiev in a conversation with The Page, as cited by RBC-Ukraine. According to him, when water utilities fail to pay for the electricity they consume, the money does not simply "disappear": the shortfall is passed further down the chain and ultimately concentrates on the balancing market. "Because of water utilities' debts, our balancing market is sinking deeper and deeper into debt," Riabtsiev emphasized.

### How end-consumer debts end up on the balancing market

The mechanism described by the expert is that non-payments by end consumers do not remain an isolated problem of a particular enterprise. Unpaid amounts for electricity flow into the system and ultimately land on the balancing market, turning it into a de facto "collector" of accumulated debts. That is precisely why, in Riabtsiev's words, the balancing market has become one of the main places where non-payments concentrate across the country's entire energy system. This logic explains why the debt problem cannot be solved by targeted measures and instead requires a systemic approach at the level of the entire settlement chain.

### Tariff review is only a slowdown, not a solution

The expert stated outright that a tariff review can only slow the formation of new debts, but by itself it will not eliminate the debt that has already accumulated. "At the very least, they will pause the growth of this amount. But, of course, all of this is not enough," Riabtsiev assessed. According to him, a systemic solution to the debt problem requires separate legislative measures, which, as he noted, the government had planned to submit to parliament earlier. Without the adoption of such regulatory steps, the balancing market, the expert concluded, will continue to remain the main "repository" of non-payments in the energy system.

### Debts as a barrier to integration with the European market

The debt problem on the balancing market goes beyond the domestic economy and becomes a factor affecting Ukraine's integration into the European energy space. Earlier, the director of the Center for Energy Studies, Oleksandr Kharchenko, stated that debts have already become one of the key barriers to integrating the Ukrainian electricity market with the European one. In his words, the European side expects from Ukraine not only formal compliance with requirements but also a real resolution of the debt problem, including on the balancing market. Thus, the issue of debts is directly tied to the prospect of synchronization and full accession to the unified European energy space.

### Contradictory data

The available sources differ on which group of consumers is named as the source of the debts. In Hennadii Riabtsiev's statement, the emphasis is placed specifically on water utilities as a particular type of insolvent consumer whose debts, in his words, "feed" the balancing market. At the same time, in an Obozrevatel publication, the headline and context link the balancing market's deep debt to a broader circle of debtors — state mines and water utilities simultaneously. In other words, in one version the source of the problem is narrowed to water utilities, while in the other it is expanded to a set of state enterprises. Moreover, expert assessments differ on the adequacy of current measures: the tariff review is interpreted as a tool only to slow the growth of debt, whereas a real solution requires legislative initiatives, the timing and content of which are not detailed in the provided materials. These discrepancies in the scope of debtors and in the assessment of the effectiveness of measures should be taken into account when interpreting the information.

### Risks to generation and investor interest

Besides the integration-related consequences, the growth of debt on the balancing market also creates more practical threats to the energy system. The Euro-Ukrainian Energy Agency (EUEA) has warned that further growth of debt on the balancing market poses risks to the stable operation of all generation in Ukraine. In parallel, industry experts have stated that the accumulated debts on the balancing market deter private investors from investing in the energy sector. The combination of these factors — the threat to generation stability, the barrier for European partners, and the decline in investment attractiveness — makes the balancing market's debt crisis one of the central problems of the energy sector at this time.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Balancing market continues to accumulate debt: expert names the cause](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/balansuyuchiy-rinok-prodovzhue-nakopichuvati-1789480665.html) - Основной источник: заявление Геннадия Рябцева о том, что долги водоканалов подпитывают задолженность балансирующего рынка; пересмотр тарифов лишь замедлит рост долга, нужны законодательные решения.
- [Balancing market is mired in debt due to non-payments by state mines and water utilities, – Kharchenko](https://www.obozrevatel.com/ekonomika-glavnaya/balansiruyuschij-ryinok-pogryaz-v-dolgah-iz-za-neplatezhej-gosshaht-i-vodokanalov-harchenko.htm) - Расширяет круг должников до госшахт и водоканалов; связывает долги с барьером для интеграции с европейским рынком. Отличается от версии Рябцева по охвату должников.
- [Electricity balancing market in Ukraine: EUEA proposes a comprehensive solution to the debt ...](https://delo.ua/ru/news/balansiruyushhii-rynok-elektroenergii-v-ukraine-eba-predlagaet-kompleksnoe-resenie-dolgovogo-krizisa-460514/) - Подтверждает контекст долгового кризиса на балансирующем рынке и позицию ЕБА о рисках для стабильности генерации; упоминает комплексное решение.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Why do water utilities' debts affect the balancing market?
**A:** According to expert Hennadii Riabtsiev, when water utilities fail to pay for electricity, the shortfall in funds does not disappear but is passed further down the chain and ultimately accumulates on the balancing market.

### Q: Will a tariff review solve the debt problem?
**A:** No. The expert notes that a tariff review will only pause the growth of the debt amount but will not solve the already accumulated problem. A systemic solution requires separate legislative measures.

### Q: How are the debts linked to Ukraine's integration with the European market?
**A:** Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Center for Energy Studies, stated that debts have become one of the key barriers to integration, and that the European side expects a real resolution of the debt problem, including on the balancing market.

### Q: What risks does the growth of debt on the balancing market create?
**A:** The EUEA warned that further growth of debt poses risks to the stable operation of all generation in Ukraine, while industry experts point out that such debts deter private investors in the energy sector.