Looking for Soviet equipment. How Ukraine will rebuild the thermal power plants destroyed by Russia
13 February 18:22
Ukraine is actively searching for Soviet thermal power plants and power stations in Eastern European countries in order to use their components to modernize its own energy system, and, where possible, is taking the most valuable equipment, often in whole blocks, according to Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal during question time in parliament, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Today, we are paying close attention to working with our energy companies. Of course, there is a high demand today for equipment to repair thermal power plants and combined heat and power plants. Accordingly, partners are providing funds, and the Energy Support Fund for Ukraine has been created. This fund already has requests for €1.8 billion,” Shmyhal said.
He stressed that an important point is that the procurement and waiting time for equipment manufacturing takes 4 to 6 months, so a new approach is now being proposed – to create a reserve of all the necessary equipment so that it can be quickly replaced and put into operation.
“We are continuing to work with our partners to find old Soviet-type power plants and power stations in Eastern Europe. We are finding such facilities,” the energy minister added.
According to him, Ukrainian specialists visit the sites, conduct an inventory and analysis of the condition of the equipment, after which a decision is made on dismantling and transportation.
“Of course, I cannot disclose any specific details publicly at this time, but we have a number of such facilities that are currently being processed. Just last week, a delegation completed visits to several Eastern European countries with which we will implement this plan,” Shmyhal concluded.
The government explains that the use of Soviet-style equipment allows for faster integration into existing Ukrainian power units, as many stations were built according to similar technical standards. This significantly reduces the time required to restore generation and reduces the cost of adapting systems.
