Ukraine and the EU agree to increase the possibility of importing electricity in winter
29 October 2024 16:35
Starting December 1, the maximum capacity for importing electricity from the EU will be increased from the current 1.7 to 2.1 GW. This was announced by the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Galushchenko, according to Komersant ukrainskyi
.
According to him, this will increase the resilience of the Ukrainian energy system in the face of criminal Russian shelling and infrastructure destruction.
“I am grateful to our European partners, in particular to European Commissioner Kadri Simson, for their consistent position and effective steps to support our energy system on the eve of winter,” said Herman Halushchenko.
In addition, Ukraine will have the opportunity to receive a guaranteed 250 MW of capacity from the EU in the emergency mode.
As you know, the need to make an important decision to increase import capacity was discussed at a meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in September in Kyiv.
The history of interconnection of the Ukrainian and EU power systems
on February 24, 2022, Ukraine began scheduled testing of the power system in isolation, which was supposed to last three days and prove the stability of the Ukrainian power system as a prerequisite for synchronization with the European power system in 2023. However, Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on February 24 meant that Ukraine was permanently disconnected from the aggressor’s energy system. And less than a month later, on March 16, 2022, one of the most important events for the development and security of Ukraine’s energy sector took place – the synchronization of the Ukrainian-Moldovan power systems. This emergency interconnection was an important milestone in the process of Ukraine’s integration into European energy markets. Preparations for this began back in 2017 with the signing of the Agreement on the Interconnection of the Integrated Power System of Ukraine to the Power System of Continental Europe by NPC Ukrenergo.
Currently, the EU exports 2 gigawatts of electricity to Ukraine, which covers about 12% of its winter needs.
Three components of EU energy assistance to Ukraine
During her visit to Kyiv in September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen formulated three areas of cooperation: repair, connection, and stabilization. During the Ukraine’s Energy Security press conference, she also outlined the goal of Ukraine and the EU working together in the energy sector: to provide 25% of Ukraine’s total needs during the upcoming heating season.
This 25% is planned to be covered primarily by repairing energy facilities, and repair efforts are currently focused on restoring 2.5 gigawatts of capacity this winter, which is approximately 15% of Ukraine’s needs. Exports of 2 gigawatts of electricity to Ukraine account for another 12%.
The third area of EU assistance is the stabilization of the Ukrainian energy system, which includes the deployment of more renewable energy sources in Ukraine. As an example, Ursula von der Leyen mentioned sending solar panels to 21 hospitals in Ukraine to ensure uninterrupted energy supply. 8 of them should be fully equipped by this winter.
