The synchronization of the Ukrainian and European power systems has been successfully completed, ENTSO-E, the network of Continental European transmission system operators, has announced.
“The transmission system operators of continental Europe are pleased to announce that Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian system operator, has achieved compliance with the key technical requirements necessary to ensure a permanent connection between the power systems of continental Europe and Ukraine,” ENTSO-E said on Tuesday.
“ENTSO-E welcomes the new level of cooperation between the operators of continental Europe and Ukrenergo. This development not only strengthens regional energy security, but also contributes to a more integrated and more efficient energy market,” said Zbignek Boldis, President of ENTSO-E.
According to him, it also emphasizes the ongoing efforts to ensure a resilient and integrated electricity grid and to promote cooperation between European transmission system operators.
As noted on the website, emergency synchronization with the European power system took place on March 16, 2022, and since then Ukrenergo has made extraordinary efforts in difficult wartime conditions to achieve full compliance with the operating rules.
“For its part, Ukrenergo explained that the technical conditions – the Catalog of Measures – were enshrined in the Agreement on the Conditions for the Future Interconnection of the Power Systems of Ukraine and Continental Europe, signed in 2017. The catalog contains more than 200 technical measures in 9 areas. All of these measures are an integral part of the Framework Agreement on the Synchronous Area of the Continental Europe (SAFA), to which Ukrenergo also joins.
“We highly appreciate today’s decision, and I am confident that this achievement will help to significantly increase the flexibility and reliability of our network, as well as create the preconditions for expanding cooperation. This is the result of many years of hard work, which became especially challenging after the outbreak of a full-scale war. We are grateful to ENTSO-E for its constant support and trust throughout this time,” said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, Chairman of the Board of NPC Ukrenergo, as quoted in the company’s release.
As reported, on the same day, ENTSO-E decided to expand the technical conditions for electricity imports from Europe to Ukraine and Moldova from 1200 MW to 1700 MW.
Transmission system operators in Continental Europe have responded positively to NPC Ukrenergo’s request to resume electricity exports from Ukraine, the company said.
“Today, the energy system of Ukraine is operating in the trial emergency synchronization mode with ENTSO-E, which means that export-import operations with European counterparties are not performed. However, both the Ukrainian and European sides are considering the possibility of a phased increase in export volumes, which would be mutually beneficial” , – reported on the Ukrenergo website on Wednesday.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said that integration with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) will open up additional prospects for the development of “green energy” in Ukraine.
“Ukraine seeks to adapt the best policies of the European Union, and for this, over the past one and a half years, the government has been actively introducing and developing the gas and electricity market, and is also actively preparing for integration with ENTSO-E in 2023,” the government’s press service said, citing Shmyhal.
The prime minister said that Ukraine is integrating the System Value approach of the World Economic Forum (WEF) into economic planning, in particular, within the framework of this approach, energy efficiency improvements, modernization of distribution networks and an increase in the share of renewable energy sources will become important factors.
“The System Value approach, developed by the WEF, defines a set of solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of economic and power systems. It allows for a better and more complete assessment of the economic, environmental, social and technological results of implementing solutions in the power sector. This tool will also be used for “green” modernization of the economy,” the head of government said.
Shmyhal said that Ukraine has one of the most energy-intensive economies in Europe, and energy efficiency measures will help decarbonize Ukraine’s economy, increase investment in the technology sector and create new jobs.
According to the head of government, integration with the ENTSO-E, which is scheduled for 2023, will open up broad prospects for the development of renewable energy sources in Ukraine, while increasing the stability of the Ukrainian and European power systems.
The prime minister expressed confidence that in the next report of the WEF Energy Transition Index, Ukraine will rank higher thanks to the active development of smart grids, hydrogen economy and power storage systems.
After tests at power unit No. 3 of Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant (NPP), the program for testing excitation systems of turbine generators of power units of Ukrainian NPPs, included in the catalog of measures of the agreement on the terms of future integration of the united energy system of Ukraine with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity ENTSO-E, has been successfully completed.
According to the website of Energoatom, in addition to specialists of Energoatom and Ukrenergo, representatives of the ENTSO-E Consortium and DMSS-Engineering with the support of the USAID Energy Security Project took part in testing the excitation systems of turbine generators.
The company recalled that Energoatom began this program on August 17, 2020 together with Ukrenergo as part of checking the compliance of the domestic generation with the ENTSO-E technological standards. Corresponding tests were carried out at power unit No. 2 of Rivne NPP, No. 1 of Zaporizhia NPP, as well as power units No. 1 and No. 3 of Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP.
According to Energoatom, on the basis of research data, the ENTSO-E Transmission System Operators Consortium (EMC, MAVIR, PSE, SEPS, 50Hertz and Transelectrica) will create a common mathematical model of the synchronous operation of the Ukrainian and European power systems. Also, this information will be used to study the static and dynamic stability of the united energy system of Ukraine, provided that it works in parallel with ENTSO-E.
Energoatom noted that Ukrenergo signed a service contract for the implementation of this item in the catalog of events with the CONSORTIUM in 2019.
At the same time, commenting on the completion of the tests, the Ministry of Energy noted on the website that in addition to the planned technical measures, in order to successfully complete the synchronization, it is necessary to certify the transmission system operator in accordance with the requirements of the Third Energy Package of the EU.
ENERGOATOM, ENERGY SYSTEM, ENTSO-E, SYNCHRONIZATION, UKRENERGO
