The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is planning new loans totaling EUR450 million for Ukrainian energy investments, including the reconstruction of hydroelectric power plants and power grid infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks, as well as the restoration of district heating networks in Ukrainian cities.
According to a press release on the bank’s website, another EUR 86 million will go to Ukraine’s national power grid operator, NPC Ukrenergo, to build drone shelters for power plants.
“We are stepping up our support to help protect and repair Ukraine’s infrastructure before winter,” the release quotes EIB President Nadezhda Calvigno as saying, “On July 22, she briefed EU foreign ministers on these measures and held a regular video conference with Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko to discuss progress on ongoing projects, especially in energy infrastructure.
According to her, the bank will also expand its support for Ukraine’s economy by facilitating access to finance for businesses and promoting trade with the EU.
In the business finance component of the latest support package, the EIB Group approved three partial portfolio guarantees, which are expected to lead to more than EUR 110 million in new lending to Ukrainian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises through three Ukrainian banks. It is specified that the guarantees are to be signed in the second half of 2024 with the respective banks and will support 550 Ukrainian companies, preserving about 8,250 jobs.
In addition, the EIB Group intends to provide partial portfolio guarantees to five more banks in Ukraine by the end of the year under the EU4Business Guarantee Facility, the release said.
According to the release, this week the EIB is also joining forces with Ukrsibbank, the Ukrainian subsidiary of BNP Paribas Group and one of Ukraine’s largest banks, to launch a revolving credit line of at least EUR150 million in Ukrainian hryvnia to support businesses affected by the war. The local currency facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2024. This is the EIB’s second initiative to stimulate local currency lending in Ukraine, following a partnership with Citibank Ukraine for between $50 million and $100 million in Ukrainian hryvnia.
In addition, the release notes, by the end of this month and following the signing of an agreement with the European Commission in June, the European Investment Fund (EIF) will start accepting applications under a EUR300 million export credit guarantee facility to support EU companies trading with Ukraine. The initiative will offer guarantees to export credit agencies in EU member states, as well as Norway and Iceland, that want to help export to Ukraine.
Following a videoconference on July 22, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine announced that it expects the EIB to approve a EUR250 million package of support for Ukraine’s energy sector in the near future.
In general, according to the Ukrainian side, the volume of EIB initiatives in the public sector is 26 projects worth EUR 5.3 billion, and the volume of the portfolio of joint projects in the public and private sectors is the largest for all years of cooperation and exceeds EUR 7 billion, including about EUR 2 billion of EIB investments in all areas since the beginning of the full-scale war.
Regarding current initiatives, the parties also discussed preparations for the signing of a financial agreement between Ukraine and the EIB on the project “Implementation of the Emergency Assistance System for the Population by a Single Number 112”, as well as potential joint projects, in particular, aimed at providing housing for Ukrainian citizens.
As reported, in 2024, Ukraine and the EIB signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the public and private sectors of Ukraine’s economy. The Memorandum identifies priority areas of cooperation for the next 10 years.
Japan has purchased large-sized equipment for Ukraine with a total capacity of about 200 MW, including 5 gas turbines and 7 large transformers, as part of its support for the energy sector.
The announcement was made during a meeting in Kyiv on Sunday between Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa. The equipment was purchased and delivered by the Japanese government in cooperation with UNDP and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency Jica.
“This is very important equipment. Some of it is still on the way, but two autotransformers have already been installed, and now we are talking about two more similar ones, as well as five gas turbine units and seven large transformers. We are talking about decentralization of the power system and an additional 200 MW of capacity,” Galushchenko said at a briefing after the meeting.
According to him, the equipment provided by Japan will be distributed throughout the country.
“This fully coincides with the goals of our national energy strategy aimed at decentralizing the energy sector,” the minister added.
In her speech, Yoko Kamikawa categorically condemned Russia’s ongoing attacks on civilian objects and the population and assured of full support for Ukraine.
“It is very important to support Ukrainians to protect them this winter. The equipment that Ukraine receives from us will benefit about 5 million of its citizens,” she said.
A memorandum of understanding between the Ukrainian and Bulgarian energy ministries on cooperation in the energy sector was signed in the presence of Zelensky and Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolo Denkov during an official visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Bulgaria.
According to the press service of the Ukrainian head of state, the document was signed by Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko and Bulgarian Energy Minister Rumen Radev.
“The memorandum is aimed at creating framework conditions for deepening cooperation in the energy sector of Ukraine and Bulgaria based on the principle of mutual benefit and taking into account common interests and goals of both countries,” the statement said.
Ukraine and Bulgaria undertook to provide affordable energy, as well as to support industrial and regional development, security and prosperity of their peoples, expand cooperation and a shared commitment to protect the environment and mitigate climate change and reduce carbon emissions.
It was noted that taking into account Ukraine’s status as a candidate for EU membership and Bulgaria’s obligations as a EU member state, the sides agreed to intensify further mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, green energy, hydrogen, as well as energy storage systems and smart grids.
Sharing knowledge and experience to protect energy infrastructure from physical, electromagnetic, and cyber threats is a priority in the cooperation.
As reported, Bulgarian parliamentarians by a majority vote delegated the country’s Energy Minister to negotiate with his Ukrainian counterpart on the possibility of selling equipment intended for Belene NPP to Kiev, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported Thursday.
The decision was supported by 135 deputies, while 57 opposed.
Earlier, BNR reported that Ukraine had expressed interest in purchasing the reactors intended for Belene NPP.
Bulgaria abandoned the project in 2012.
Ukraine needs to strengthen protection of energy facilities before the next heating season and carry out work to decentralize the energy sector, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Sunday.
“We are working through all scenarios and will do everything to approach the next winter ready for any threat. In six months, our power engineers, officials, the security and defense sector and everyone involved in the relevant tasks must do absolutely specific things,” he said.
According to the president, it is necessary “to strengthen the protection of power facilities, to restore the infrastructure that has been destroyed by Russian strikes in the past six months, to give more opportunities to our people under the power system decentralization project, so that people can generate and supply electricity on their private territory, on their private facilities. This is a big job; it has already begun.
Member of the European Commission (EC) for Energy Kadri Simson said that on Wednesday, September 14, the EC proposal to address a number of problems that have arisen in the EU energy market will be made public.
“Tomorrow we will submit a proposal that aims to eliminate these problems,” the European Commissioner said on Tuesday, speaking at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Among the measures, she, in particular, named a reduction in demand for electricity, limiting the income of energy companies that produce electricity at low costs, contributions from companies that receive excess profits for the production of gas, oil and coal.
Referring to Russian gas imports, Simson noted that a “ceiling” on Russian gas would solve the problem of price speculation. However, more work is needed to assess the risk of a possible negative impact of such a measure on some EU Member States. In addition, the European Commission will continue to analyze how a price cap on all gas imports could function and what the consequences would be.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will look for opportunities to help Poland in the energy sector and find a way out of their future energy risks in the near future.
“Today we raised important energy issues. We discussed energy challenges. We are interested that Ukraine can help Poland. We are doing everything to find a way out of their future energy risks in the near future,” Zelensky said at a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Moravetsky and Latvian President Egils Levits in Kyiv on Friday.
He also called this issue a priority in relations with Poland.
“For us, this is a priority in our relations. Despite the fact that we have a ban on the export of coal during this difficult period, we will look for an opportunity to help Poland. Because Poland, in spite of everything, found certain steps to help us, when it was not easy for her. We understand this responsibility,” the President added.
