Naftogaz tender for cogeneration units in Kryvyi Rih increased in price by over UAH 200 million after several restarts

In Kryvyi Rih, after almost a year of tender re-runs, a contractor has been selected for the construction of cogeneration units at the Kryvyi Rih Thermal Power Plant, which is managed by NJSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine". The winner was LLC "NVP "Energo-plus" with a bid of UAH 1.776 billion, which is UAH 206.4 million more than the lowest bid during the procedure. This is reported by Telegraf, as conveyed by UNN.

This refers to the project for installing gas-piston cogeneration units with a total capacity of 75.2 MW, which are intended to strengthen the city's energy resilience during the war. At the same time, the history of the procurement raised questions due to numerous changes in conditions and the cancellation of previous tenders.

The first procedure was announced in February 2025 with an expected value of about UAH 1.585 billion. At that time, 11 companies participated in the auction, and the lowest bid was UAH 1.182 billion, but no winner was determined, and the tender was canceled. In the next procedure, conducted with softer requirements, the price dropped to UAH 918.8 million, but it was also canceled – officially due to a violation of the review deadlines.

After this, the procurement conditions were changed. The new tender introduced stricter requirements for participants' experience, particularly regarding the construction of cogeneration units with a capacity of at least 10 MW at a single facility, as well as financial criteria. The procedure was conducted without an electronic auction.

The most economically advantageous offer of UAH 1.569 billion from LLC "VKP "Kotlogaz" was rejected. After a series of complaints to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and a review of the customer's decisions, the fourth participant, "NVP "Energo-plus", was ultimately declared the winner.

Some participants, including the company "ENERGO-SERVICE COMPANY "METROPOLIYA", claimed discriminatory requirements that could narrow competition. In their opinion, the combination of technical and financial criteria excluded some companies capable of performing the work more cheaply.

The tender winner is registered in Kremenchuk. Its ultimate beneficial owner in the registers is listed as Yevhen Korf, a deputy of the Poltava Regional Council. Open sources also mention the company's connections with entrepreneur Andriy Teslenko.

According to sources, Oleksiy Vilkhovyi, Director of Thermal and Alternative Energy at Naftogaz of Ukraine Group, may have been involved in shaping the technical requirements of the last procedure.

As a result, after four attempts to conduct the procurement, a contractor was chosen with a bid that exceeds previous cheaper offers by more than UAH 200 million. Due to the protracted procedure, new cogeneration capacities have not yet been put into operation, and the city is already going through its second heating season without them.