Ukraine restored 6 GW of capacity: what is known about preparing the power system for winter
25 August 2025 16:07
Over the past year and a half, Ukraine has managed to restore about 6 gigawatts of power capacity damaged by Russian strikes. This was stated by energy expert Volodymyr Omelchenko in a commentary to "Komersant Ukrainian" .
According to him, in March and early April 2024, the enemy damaged about 10 GW of generating capacity. Some of them have been restored, and the work continues.
Currently, there are about 11 billion cubic meters of gas in underground storage facilities, including buffer gas. By the beginning of the heating season, 13.2 billion are needed. Omelchenko predicts that it will be possible to accumulate about 12.5 billion cubic meters, and the rest will have to be purchased in the autumn and winter.
“The situation with winterization is generally more or less normal, as far as it is possible in wartime,” the expert said.
Gas in storage facilities
“It is better to contract now on a long-term basis, while prices are not so high, so as not to buy gas later on the spot market at inflated rates,” he advises.
New capacities
Ukraine continues to commission solar and wind power plants, as well as gas-fired generation. As a result, there is no shortage of electricity, except for evening consumption peaks, which have to be covered by imports.
Exports and imports
Ukraine simultaneously exports and imports electricity depending on the daily balance of consumption.
- Exports occur during low demand hours (night or day).
- Imports are needed during peak evening hours, when some nuclear and thermal units are under repair.
Main risks
According to Omelchenko, the main challenge this winter will be the timely accumulation of sufficient gas in storage facilities. He calls this task the most difficult.
As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia is deliberately attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to disrupt the country’s preparations for the winter.
According to him, the attacks affect not only electricity generation and heat supply, but also natural gas production, a critical resource for providing heat to the population.
“Russia is trying to disrupt our preparations for the winter, striking at our energy infrastructure. And this applies not only to electricity generation, heat generation, but also to the production of our natural gas,” Zelenskyy said during a meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide in Kyiv.
