Since the beginning of 2025, PJSC DTEK Kyiv Electric Grids has replaced almost 19,000 outdated meters with new smart meters in homes in the capital.
“The energy company is doing this at no additional cost as part of an investment program approved by the state regulator NEURC,” the company said on its website.
The company called the replacement of meters an important step in the large-scale digital transformation of Kyiv’s distribution network—customers will receive accurate electricity bills without having to submit their meter readings every month, and energy companies will be able to manage their networks more efficiently by analyzing the data received.
“Smart meters are a basic element of a modern technological network, allowing it to independently adapt to changes in demand and equipment status,” DTEK Kyiv Electric Grids said.
As explained by the company, a smart meter automatically records electricity consumption readings and transmits them to DTEK Kyiv Electric Grids in real time. This provides an accurate picture of consumption every hour, not only for individual apartments or houses, but also for entire neighborhoods and streets. At the same time, all information from the meters is aggregated and analyzed, which allows identifying peak periods and optimizing equipment operation, as well as forecasting consumption for early reinforcement of network sections.
The smart meter also allows remote diagnostics of the device status. In particular, distribution system operators can detect technical failures or damage without visiting the home or business, which significantly reduces response time.
Data from meters can be integrated with the SCADA energy infrastructure monitoring and remote control system. This allows dispatchers to see the actual consumption picture at all points of the network, automatically locate faults, and avoid emergency shutdowns.
DTEK Kyiv Electric Grids emphasized that the transition to the latest electricity metering devices is an important part of the “Network of the Future” infrastructure modernization project. It is planned that by 2034, all residents of Kyiv will have a smart meter in their homes.
“As of May 20, we have installed 18,969 smart meters for Kyiv residents, and in 2025 we plan to replace almost 47,000 old devices with new ones. Currently, 41% of customers in the capital have smart electricity meters,” said Denis Bondar, CEO of DTEK Kyiv Electric Grids.
Kyiv residents can find out whether their meters are scheduled to be replaced this year on the DTEK Kyiv Electric Grids website. The company explained that smart meters are primarily installed in buildings where the existing meters are reaching the end of their service life.
According to OpenDataBot’s ranking of Ukraine’s largest employers by region, based on companies’ financial reports for 2023, DTEK Odessa Power Grids has become the largest employer in the Odessa region, providing jobs for more than 3,000 employees. The company specializes in the transmission and distribution of electricity and is part of the DTEK energy group owned by businessman Rinat Akhmetov (SKM group).
According to State Statistics Service and open sources:
Number of employees: about 3,200 (as of the end of 2023)
Revenue: UAH 6.9 billion (2023)
According to public statements, the company is investing in the modernization of power grids and the digitization of services. In 2023 alone, more than UAH 700 million was allocated to infrastructure upgrades and improving the reliability of power supply.
In January-April 2025, DTEK Energy allocated approximately UAH 1.6 billion to repair and restore thermal power plants damaged by massive enemy shelling.
According to a press release from the energy holding company, the repair campaign is currently continuing without interruption, as the scale of the damage remains critical. A year ago, 90% of DTEK Energy’s generating capacity was destroyed or seriously damaged by attacks. On the eve of last winter, energy companies managed to restore more than half of it, but new strikes in November-December again caused serious damage.
“Our main task is not to stop. We are working every day on restoration to ensure the stable operation of the power system in the summer, during peak loads, and to confidently enter the next heating season,” said DTEK Energy CEO Alexander Fomenko.
In 2024, DTEK invested UAH 3.6 billion in the restoration of thermal power plants and another UAH 7.5 billion in the development of domestic coal mining.
Over the past year, Russia has carried out 13 massive attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector, dealing a serious blow to DTEK Energy’s thermal power plants, among others. In total, since the start of the full-scale invasion, the company’s thermal power plants have been attacked by the enemy 205 times. Fifty-six power plant workers were wounded in the attacks and four were killed.
DTEK Energy provides a closed cycle of electricity production from coal. As of January 2022, the company’s installed thermal generation capacity was 13.3 GW. A complete production cycle has been established in coal mining: coal extraction and enrichment, machine building, and maintenance of mining equipment.
DTEK Kyiv Grids has completed almost 40% of the repairs planned for 2025 to prepare the city’s energy infrastructure for stable operation during peak consumption periods, in particular during the heat wave or autumn and winter.
“We have already completed almost 40% of the activities planned for 2025. In particular, we have repaired more than 90 transformer substations of different voltage classes and completed more than 300 repairs of cable lines,” the company said, citing Denys Bondar, CEO of DTEK Kyiv Electricity Grids.
In total, in 2025, the power engineers of the transmission system operator plan to carry out repairs at six high-voltage substations, as well as 802 distribution and transformer points. In addition, it is planned to repair almost 60 kilometers of overhead power lines, 60 transformers, 217 switches and carry out 2,150 repairs on underground cable power lines.
As noted in the company, the power engineers of the capital conduct inspections, diagnostics of equipment and electrical lines, in particular, using thermal imagers, mobile electrical laboratories, analysis of technical fluids, etc. and, based on the data obtained, identify weaknesses where an accident may occur.
As reported, last year DTEK Kyiv Electricity Networks repaired and reconstructed 797 power facilities and 62 km of power lines and performed 5 thousand repairs of cable lines, investing almost UAH 1 billion in these projects.
In January and February this year, DTEK Energy’s machine builders manufactured and repaired almost 505 units of mining equipment, including two new shearers for mining operations.
The energy holding said in a press release on Tuesday that machine builders also supported the needs of miners with more than 330,000 spare parts and components.
“Power engineers are working non-stop to restore capacities after the shelling, while miners are supporting sufficient fuel needs of thermal generation. And machine builders are working hard to provide them with equipment, spare parts and everything they need for coal mining,” said DTEK Energy CEO Aleksandr Fomenko.
In January, DTEK Energy’s miners commissioned the first two new coal faces this year.
In 2024, the company’s investments in Ukrainian coal mining amounted to UAH 7.5 billion. These funds were spent on the construction and repair of capital mine workings, completion of coal longwalls, mine tunnelling equipment, underground mine transport and production capacity support projects.
“DTEK Energy provides a closed cycle of electricity generation from coal. The company’s installed capacity in thermal generation amounted to 13.3 GW as of January 2022. The company has established a full production cycle in coal mining: coal mining and enrichment, mechanical engineering, and maintenance of mine equipment.
Currently, most of DTEK Group’s thermal generation facilities have been destroyed as a result of Russian attacks.
Over the past year, DTEK Kyiv Grids has repaired and reconstructed 797 power facilities and 62 km of power lines and carried out 5,000 repairs of cable lines, investing almost UAH 1 billion in these projects.
“This helped to increase the resilience of the capital’s power grids to the challenges of enemy attacks and lay the foundation for a successful heating season,” the company said on its website on Wednesday.
According to the company, to prevent possible accidents, DTEK Kyiv Electricity Networks specialists carried out routine and emergency measures, in particular, repaired more than 46 km of power lines and 731 power facilities, and cleared more than 158 km of routes under power lines to prevent wire breakage due to bad weather.
Implementing its own investment program, which involves the overhaul of existing facilities or the construction of new ones, DTEK Kyiv Grids reconstructed one high-voltage substation, eight distribution points, 44 transformer points and 15 kilometers of cable networks in 2024. In addition, the company upgraded 13 high-voltage substations.
Thus, the quality and reliability of electricity supply was improved for 70 thousand families in the capital.
“Despite the challenges of wartime, we keep our existing electrical equipment in good working order and maintain it on time. We are also gradually implementing a program of technical re-equipment and modernization. In particular, in 2024, we allocated almost UAH 1 billion for such projects,” said Denys Bondar, CEO of DTEK Kyiv Grids.
In 2024, the company’s specialists also installed almost 39 thousand smart meters in the homes of Kyiv residents.
As reported earlier, in 2024, DTEK Grids’ distribution system operators repaired and reconstructed 14.1 thousand kilometers of power lines and more than 6 thousand power facilities, which is 80% more than in 2023.
“DTEK Grids is developing the electricity distribution and power grid operation business in Kyiv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Donetsk and Odesa regions. The company’s DSOs serve 5.5 million households and 158,000 enterprises.
