Global demand for coal will rise this year and reach a new all-time high amid a surge in natural gas prices and a summer heat wave that has increased electricity consumption from air conditioners, according to forecasts by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
According to the agency’s estimates, global coal demand will rise by 1.2% in 2026 to 8.94 billion metric tons.
“Coal is virtually not shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, as the Middle East is neither a major producer nor a significant consumer of coal, but the closure of the strait still affected the coal market due to rising natural gas prices,” the IEA said in a statement. “This has stimulated an increase in electricity generation at coal-fired power plants in countries where there is a choice between gas and coal.”
If shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resumes and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies return to the levels seen before the start of hostilities in the Middle East, global demand for coal will decline next year. Otherwise, 2027 will once again set a record for coal consumption, IEA analysts noted.
From February 2022 to February 2026, the IDS Ukraine Group of Companies allocated 875 million UAH of its own funds to business development, the company’s CEO, Marko Tkachuk, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine. External financing was virtually unavailable to the group during this period.
Of the total amount, 161 million UAH was invested in equipment upgrades, 220 million UAH in the refrigerated fleet, and 87 million UAH in infrastructure projects.
The largest single area of investment was digital transformation and software, in which the company invested 363.4 million UAH.
IDS Ukraine invested another 43.6 million UAH directly in ensuring the energy independence of its facilities. A powerful generator was installed at the plant in Morshyn, and a solar power plant was built in Myrhorod. The company’s total in-house power generation capacity reached 1.6 MW.
Even with backup capacity, it is not yet possible to completely replace the centralized power supply. In Myrhorod, during a blackout, one or two of the four power lines may remain operational, and at the “Oskar” plant in Morshyn, one of the five lines may remain operational. This allows production of the most in-demand drinking water to continue even during prolonged outages.
Separately, IDS Ukraine has invested 9.2 million UAH in providing backup power to schools and kindergartens in Myrhorod and the Morshyn community. The project covers educational institutions attended by more than 6,000 children. The company announced that this program will be completed on August 31, 2026.
“Ukrnafta” is preparing for the fall-winter period amid ongoing Russian attacks on civilian oil and gas production infrastructure.
Bogdan Kukura, Chairman of the Board of Ukrnafta, and Serhiy Fedorenko, Acting Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine, visited Ukrnafta’s production units in northern and eastern Ukraine.
“The main focus is on people’s safety and the protection of production facilities. Our top priority is to safeguard our personnel and minimize the consequences of possible attacks,” said Bogdan Kukura, Chairman of the Board of JSC “Ukrnafta.”
During the visit, they inspected shelters for employees, warning systems, and the availability of personal protective equipment. They also specifically checked the security status of production facilities and the units’ readiness for operations during the fall and winter months.
The company continues to strengthen security measures and prepare its production infrastructure to operate under conditions of constant threats. The primary objective is to protect people and ensure the stable operation of production facilities.
JSC “Ukrnafta” is Ukraine’s largest oil producer and operates the country’s largest national network of gas stations—UKRNAFTA. In 2024, the company began managing Glusco’s assets. In 2025, it finalized a deal with Shell Overseas Investments BV to acquire the Shell network in Ukraine. In total, it operates nearly 700 gas stations.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to resume operations and modernize the format of the gas stations in its network. Since February 2023, it has been issuing its own fuel vouchers and “NAFTACard” cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
The largest shareholder of Ukrnafta is NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, with a stake of 50% + 1 share.
In November 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state the portion of the company’s corporate rights that belonged to private owners; this portion is now managed by the Ministry of Defense.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cited Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure as one of the causes of the global energy crisis and rising energy prices, according to The New York Times.
“We are currently experiencing an energy shock due to the war in Ukraine, as Ukraine has decided to target Russian energy assets and oil refineries, which is driving up prices globally,” Bessent said.
According to The New York Times, Bessent made this statement after two days of meetings in North Carolina with finance ministers from around the world. He cited Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil infrastructure as one of the causes of the global energy crisis, which he said was primarily caused by the U.S. war with Iran.
The publication notes that Bessent’s remarks came after the U.S. invited Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to the G20 meeting, a move that drew criticism from some of Ukraine’s allies.
Bessent also defended his bilateral meeting with Siluanov, citing the need for cooperation to resolve Russia’s war against Ukraine.
At the same time, as the American publication notes, Bessent’s criticism of Ukraine’s military tactics sparked a negative reaction among Ukrainians.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/business/bessent-energy-prices-ukraine.html
Schneider Electric reported a roughly 30% increase in net income attributable to the company’s shareholders to EUR2.49 billion for the first half of 2026, while revenue reached a record EUR21.23 billion.
A year earlier, revenue stood at EUR19.34 billion. Organic sales growth in the first half of 2026 was 14%.
Adjusted EBITA increased to EUR4.09 billion from EUR3.51 billion, representing 22% organic growth. The EBITA margin reached 19.3%.
The company’s free cash flow more than tripled, reaching approximately EUR 1.6 billion.
The second quarter was particularly strong, with Schneider Electric’s revenue reaching a record EUR 11.5 billion, an organic increase of 17%. The Energy Management segment grew by 18%, and Industrial Automation by 11%.
The company cites the data center market as one of the main drivers. Demand for electrical infrastructure for data centers is growing rapidly amid the development of artificial intelligence, which significantly increases computing density, power consumption of server racks, and demands on cooling and backup power systems.
North America posted organic growth of 23%, while China and East Asia saw growth of 20%.
Following a strong first half of the year, Schneider Electric raised its forecast for the full year 2026. The company expects organic adjusted EBITA growth of 14–19%, up from its previous forecast of 10–15%.
Organic revenue growth is projected at 10–13%.
Schneider Electric’s results reflect a broader investment cycle in energy infrastructure. AI data centers require not only servers and graphics processing units (GPUs), but also transformers, distribution equipment, UPS systems, automation systems, cooling systems, and digital energy management solutions.
Thus, energy infrastructure is gradually becoming one of the key constraints on the further scaling of AI.
For Ukraine, this trend is significant in the long-term context of rebuilding digital infrastructure and constructing new data centers. Future facilities will require significantly greater connected power capacity and more complex power distribution architectures than traditional server centers.
Schneider Electric has been operating in Ukraine for over 30 years. Globally, the company is present in more than 100 countries and has approximately 160,000 employees.
Schneider Electric published its financial results for the first half of the year on July 30, 2026.
Representatives of Ukrainian water and wastewater utilities are exploring opportunities for automation, digitalization, and improving the energy resilience of their infrastructure using Schneider Electric solutions.
In August, a specialized Schneider Electric conference dedicated to technologies for water supply and wastewater treatment companies was held in Kyiv. The municipal utility “Chornomorskvodokanal” in the Odesa region, among others, reported its participation in the event.
The main topics of discussion included the automation of production processes, the digitalization of water supply systems, improving energy efficiency, and ensuring a reliable power supply for critical infrastructure.
For Ukrainian water utilities, the energy component is of fundamental importance, as pumping stations, wastewater treatment plants, water treatment systems, and sewer facilities are directly dependent on a stable power supply.
At the same time, the modernization of the sector is taking place amid limited financial resources available to utility companies.
Schneider Electric’s portfolio for the water supply sector includes automation, dispatch, and power management systems; controllers; SCADA; electric motor control systems; digital analytics; and specialized EcoStruxure solutions.
Specifically, the company offers EcoStruxure Water Advisor, EcoStruxure Asset Advisor, EcoStruxure Automation Expert, EcoStruxure Power Monitoring Expert, and SCADAPack telemetry systems.
These technologies enable the integration of data from pumping stations, wastewater treatment plants, electrical equipment, and networks into a single monitoring system.
According to Schneider Electric, the digital transformation of water utilities helps address several key industry challenges: water loss, high energy costs, aging infrastructure, unplanned equipment shutdowns, and the need to detect failures more quickly.
In the Ukrainian context, this is compounded by the need to improve energy resilience. A modern water utility must, in fact, have both automated process control and the ability to continue operations in the event of an external power outage.
This requires a comprehensive architecture: backup power sources, automatic load switching, control of electric motors and pumps, energy consumption monitoring, SCADA, and remote control systems.
It is precisely this combination of automation and energy management that is gradually becoming one of the key areas of modernization for Ukraine’s municipal infrastructure.
It is noteworthy that “Chornomorskvodokanal” itself hosted representatives of the international SPARC program in August, who conducted an audit of the energy equipment previously provided to the company. This indicates that the modernization of public utility infrastructure is increasingly combining international technical assistance with the implementation of modern management and control systems.
Schneider Electric has been operating in Ukraine since 1994 and provides solutions for the energy sector, industry, buildings, data centers, and critical infrastructure.
Automation, ENERGY, Schneider Electric, UKRAINE, water utility
