KIEV (Bloomberg) Ukraine will use the money it gets from selling greenhouse gas emission credits to Japan to improve energy efficiency and cut power costs, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said.
Ukraine will receive $560 million this year in exchange for the credits sold to Japan, Tymoshenko said in Kiev on Saturday. The first payments are expected to be made in April, she said.
"To the last kopeck all the money will be spent for reconstruction and modernization of boilers" to replace natural gas and cut the cost of hot water and heat supplied to households by at least half, she said.
The government of Tymoshenko is seeking to curb reliance on imported gas and increase use of alternative fuels. Russia, which supplies about 80 percent of Ukraine's energy needs, halted gas shipments to the country for two weeks in January amid a price dispute. Tymoshenko was in Japan last week to drum up investment in her country's energy industry.
Ukraine and Japan have agreed on "large scale" upgrading of Ukraine's more than 29,000 boilers, which are 67 percent fueled by natural gas. Japanese companies expressed interest in modernizing Ukrainian gas pipelines, Tymoshenko said, adding that projects will include upgrading the gas metering system and improving pumping facilities.
Tymoshenko said a memorandum was signed with Japanese firms on improving energy efficiency at steelworks and chemical plants.