The large-scale deployment of solar power plants and battery energy storage systems could reduce the total operating costs of electric power systems by 40% in the 2030s, provided that equipment costs continue to fall and electricity consumption grows simultaneously, according to a study by the Schneider Electric Research Institute (SERI), published by the international energy technology company Schneider Electric on November 10, 2026.
As noted in the company’s official press release, the report System Costs of Electricity: A New Baseline for the 21st Century Economy analyzes 40,500 energy system development scenarios with various combinations of costs for solar generation, batteries, and grid infrastructure.
The aim of the study was to determine how the proliferation of distributed energy resources—specifically rooftop solar power plants and batteries—will affect the overall costs of the power system, including centralized generation and grid operation.
According to the researchers’ estimates, even at current global average installation costs for solar panels and batteries, an optimal combination of these technologies could reduce total system costs by approximately 10%. With the projected decline in equipment costs in the 2030s, potential savings could reach 40%.
At the same time, the company emphasizes that the realization of such a scenario depends on the synchronized development of solar generation, energy storage, and the electrification of the economy. According to Schneider Electric’s estimates, these savings could contribute an additional 0.8% of global GDP to the world economy by 2030.
Researchers cite the development of battery capacity as one of the key factors in the efficiency of the power system. Under average global price conditions, a mismatch between the characteristics and operating duration of storage systems and the needs of various facilities could, conversely, increase total system costs by 35% compared to the current baseline.
The study also showed that not only the pace of renewable energy deployment is important, but also the sequence in which generation, storage, and consumption are developed. If the pace of electrification lags behind or outpaces the deployment of new power generation capacity, grid costs may temporarily rise.
Schneider Electric notes that increased electricity consumption by electric vehicles, heat pumps, data centers, and industrial facilities will allow for more efficient use of the existing grid infrastructure. Rising consumption levels, combined with load balancing, will help spread fixed costs across a larger volume of electricity sold and reduce its system-wide cost.
“Over the past decade, solar energy has been viewed as an intermittent energy source. But we’ve been looking at this generation asset the wrong way: solar energy is the fuel, and the battery is the power plant,” said Laurent Bataille, Executive Vice President of European Operations at Schneider Electric.
According to him, battery systems significantly expand the possibilities for using solar generation; however, reducing the costs of the entire electricity system is only possible through the coordinated development of generation, storage, and demand.
“Thanks to the significantly faster scaling of solar energy and batteries, Europe can set itself on the path to energy sovereignty and competitiveness. The pieces are falling into place; now we need acceleration and coordination,” Batay emphasized.
Esther Finidori, Chief Sustainability Officer at Schneider Electric, also stressed the need to align the energy transition with economic efficiency.
“This study shows that sustainability and affordability can reinforce each other, but coordination is critically important. The priority now must be to turn ambitions into action by accelerating demand for electrified energy, ensuring more flexible energy use to smooth the load curve and free up capacity, and removing barriers to the deployment of solar power and batteries,” she said.
Researchers have identified three key areas of public policy that can accelerate the reduction of electricity costs. These include introducing incentives to balance daily consumption patterns, simultaneously supporting the development of renewable generation and electrification, and reducing equipment costs by improving supply chains, streamlining permitting procedures, and training qualified specialists.
The company believes that regulatory policy should, first and foremost, create conditions for the development of distributed generation and energy storage systems, rather than imposing strict requirements on the volume of their use by individual consumers.
For Ukraine, the study’s findings are particularly significant given the need to enhance the resilience of the power grid, develop distributed generation, and ensure an uninterrupted power supply to businesses and critical infrastructure. The combination of solar power plants, batteries, and digital energy management systems can reduce individual consumers’ dependence on the centralized power grid and increase the flexibility of the energy infrastructure.
Schneider Electric is a French multinational energy technology company whose history dates back to 1836. It specializes in energy management, industrial automation, and the digital transformation of buildings, data centers, infrastructure, and industrial facilities. The company’s portfolio includes low- and medium-voltage electrical equipment, automation systems, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), the EcoStruxure software platform, and digital services. Schneider Electric operates in over 100 countries and employs approximately 160,000 people. As of 2025, the group’s revenue reached EUR 40.15 billion, an increase of approximately 5.2%, while net income amounted to EUR 4.2 billion.
Schneider Electric began operations in Ukraine in 1994, registered a representative office in 1996, and established Schneider Electric Ukraine LLC in 2000. The company supplies electrical equipment, automation systems, energy management solutions, and uninterruptible power supplies for the industrial, commercial real estate, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Its Ukrainian subsidiary has commercial divisions as well as logistics, engineering, and service support teams.
In August 2026, Schneider Electric announced its participation in the modernization of heating systems in 26 Ukrainian cities, which received equipment to improve the energy efficiency and operational reliability of their municipal infrastructure. In addition, in July, the company announced its support for Ukrainian universities by providing software for power grid design and training more than 200 faculty members from 30 higher education institutions.
BATTERY, ELECTRICITY, ENERGY, INVESTMENT, Schneider Electric, SOLAR
JSC “NAEK “Energoatom” has fully fulfilled its special obligations to ensure the availability of electricity for residential consumers (PSO), aimed at making it more affordable, by covering 100% of the cost of the service for January–September 2026, totaling 165.322 billion UAH (including VAT).
“Over the first nine months of 2026, the company paid 165 billion 322 million UAH (including VAT) for the PSO service. There is no outstanding debt to JSC ‘Guaranteed Buyer’ (‘GarPok’) for the PSO service,” according to a statement on the Energoatom website.
As previously reported, over the course of the full-scale war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine—from 2022 to 2025—“Energoatom” paid over 528.900 billion UAH (including VAT) for the PSO service.
In 2025, “Energoatom” paid 168.546 billion UAH for the PSO and transferred over 44.5 billion UAH to the state budget.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, by Order No. 399-r dated April 29, 2026, “On the Annual General Meeting of JSC NAEK ‘Energoatom,’” approved a net profit of 18,688,306,075 UAH, in accordance with the company’s consolidated financial statements for 2025. The government allocated 50% of the profit—amounting to 9,344,153,037.5 UAH—to the state budget as dividend payments.
Kyiv ranked first among 33 European capitals for the lowest electricity costs for households in September 2026, reports the Experts Club information and analytical center. The cost of one kilowatt-hour, including taxes, in the Ukrainian capital was 8.4 euro cents, according to data from the international Household Energy Price Index (HEPI) study, published by Euronews Business on October 14.
Budapest ranked second at 10.3 euro cents per kWh, while Podgorica came third, where electricity cost 11.3 euro cents. The five cheapest capitals also included Belgrade (11.6 euro cents) and Valletta (12.3 euro cents).
The average cost of electricity in the capitals of European Union countries was 27.2 euro cents per kWh. Thus, electricity in Kyiv was approximately 69.1% cheaper than the EU average, in Budapest 62.1% cheaper, in Podgorica 58.5% cheaper, and in Belgrade 57.4% cheaper.
The most expensive electricity for households was recorded in Brussels, where the price reached 41.3 euro cents per kWh. It was followed by Berlin (39.6), Dublin (38.7), Bern (38.6) and London (38.3).
Among other European capitals, high tariffs were recorded in Rome (36.6 euro cents), Vienna (34.4) and Prague (34.3). In Madrid, electricity cost 28.3 euro cents per kWh, and in Paris, 28.1 euro cents.
The difference between the most expensive and the cheapest capitals was almost fivefold: 41.3 euro cents in Brussels compared with 8.4 euro cents in Kyiv.
According to HEPI, from the beginning of February to the beginning of September 2026, the average cost of electricity for households in EU capitals increased by 4.2%. Meanwhile, natural gas prices rose by 12% over the same period.
The differences between European capitals are explained by the structure of their energy mix, dependence on imported energy resources, tariff policies, taxes and government mechanisms for supporting households.
At the same time, researchers emphasize that comparing nominal tariffs does not fully reflect the affordability of electricity for the population. When purchasing power is taken into account, the ranking changes significantly, as household incomes and overall price levels differ considerably across European countries.
The Household Energy Price Index study has been conducted monthly since 2009 with the participation of the Austrian energy regulator Energie-Control, the Hungarian regulator MEKH and the international consulting company VaasaETT. It covers 33 European capitals and takes into account supplier tariffs, network charges, taxes and government subsidies.
Both directions of cross-border electricity trade increased during the period of October 5–11: imports rose by 6% compared to the previous week—to 13,100 MWh—while exports rose by 20%—to 176,400 MWh.
“Despite localized restrictions, Ukraine remained a net exporter throughout the week,” the DIXI Group analytical center reported on Tuesday, citing data from Energy Map.
As previously reported, since October 6, due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, power restriction schedules (PRS) for industry and businesses and hourly blackout schedules (HBS) for the general public have been in effect in some regions of Ukraine.
However, even amid localized restrictions, Ukraine remained a net exporter throughout the past week due to a power surplus in other regions. This situation was caused by the inability to transmit power to certain regions and cities because the enemy had damaged transmission grids, substations, and distribution lines—particularly near major cities.
According to Energy Map, Hungary accounted for the largest share of exports that week—84,900 MWh, or 48.1%. Moldova accounted for 56,600 MWh (32.1%), Romania for 33,100 MWh (18.7%), and Poland for 1,800 MWh (1.0%).
Exports to Hungary, Romania, and Moldova increased by 15%–26%, and exports to Poland increased eightfold, though the volumes remained insignificant. No electricity was sold to Slovakia. The average daily export volume for the week was 25.2 thousand MWh.
Hungary remained the main source of imports, accounting for 8.7 thousand MWh (66.6%). Romania accounted for 3.6 thousand MWh (27.6%), Poland for 0.7 thousand MWh (5.5%), and Moldova for 0.05 thousand MWh (0.4%).
Imports from Romania and Moldova increased by 70% and 124%, respectively, while those from Hungary and Poland decreased by 3% and 39%. There were no deliveries from Slovakia for five consecutive weeks. The average daily import volume was 1.9 thousand MWh.
As previously reported, the week before last, from September 28 to October 4, electricity exports rose by 75.6% compared to the previous week—to 147.0 thousand MWh, marking the highest weekly export volume since September 2025.
Electricity imports in September 2026 fell by 58.6% compared to August—to 76.1 thousand MWh, the lowest figure since November 2023, while exports rose by 24.4% to 473,700 MWh, marking the highest monthly volume since September 2025.
“As a result, Ukraine has been a net exporter for the third consecutive month, with sales exceeding purchases by a factor of 6.2,” the DIXI Group analytical center reported on Thursday, citing data from Energy Map.
As the center noted, weather remained the main factor driving foreign trade dynamics. September was noticeably cooler than August: the need for air conditioning had subsided, and the heating season had not yet begun, so demand remained moderate. At the same time, shorter daylight hours and cloud cover reduced output from residential and industrial solar power plants.
The price situation remained favorable for exports. In September, the average BASE baseload electricity price index on Ukraine’s day-ahead market (DAM) stood at EUR116.2/MWh—29–50% lower than in neighboring markets: in Poland – EUR149.8/MWh, Slovakia – EUR163.8/MWh, and Romania – EUR174.4/MWh.
However, as explained by DIXI Group, the SWAM carbon adjustment mechanism—which will take effect on January 1, 2026—remains a constraining factor for electricity exports to EU countries, as it increases the price of Ukrainian electricity on the European market, negatively impacting its price competitiveness and exporters’ margins.
According to Energy Map, Hungary accounted for the largest share of exports in September—232,500 MWh, or 49.1%. Moldova accounted for 152,500 MWh (32.2%), Romania for 81,600 MWh (17.2%), Slovakia for 5,300 MWh (1.1%), and Poland for 1,800 MWh (0.4%).
Compared to August 2026, exports to Romania, Hungary, and Moldova increased by 14–36%, while exports to Poland and Slovakia decreased by 39% and 75%, respectively.
On a year-over-year basis, total exports decreased by 25.4% compared to September 2025 (635.1 thousand MWh).
Hungary remained the main source of imports, accounting for 38.8 thousand MWh (50.9%). Poland accounted for 17.0 thousand MWh (22.4%), Romania for 14.8 thousand MWh (19.4%), Slovakia for 5.4 thousand MWh (7.1%), and Moldova for 0.1 thousand MWh (0.2%).
Compared to August 2026, imports decreased by 37–87% across all countries. Trade with Slovakia took place only during the first five days of the month; starting September 6, volumes from this source were zero.
For comparison: in September 2025, electricity imports totaled 139.7 thousand MWh, which is 83.5% more than in September 2026, according to DIXI Group.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development may provide EUR600 million to restore the electricity balancing market, said Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Denys Shmyhal after a meeting with EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso.
“Ukrainian energy companies need EUR600 million in financing to revitalize the balancing market. We greatly appreciate the EBRD’s participation in this process and count on the bank’s support for this reform,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, the parties also discussed priorities for further cooperation across all areas. Currently, Ukraine, in partnership with the EBRD, is implementing 13 energy projects that cover virtually the entire energy chain—from gas production and supply to electricity generation and transmission—as well as projects in hydropower and renewable energy. The total value of the portfolio exceeds EUR3 billion.
In addition, Shmyhal and Reno-Basso coordinated further cooperation to attract new contributions for the reconstruction of the New Safe Confinement at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant during the Donors’ Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Paris in November.
