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.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the EU members for completing the synchronization of the Ukrainian and European power systems.
“Ukraine has become a member of the Energy Union. The unification of Ukrainian & European energy systems has been completed. Now Ukrainian electricity flows in the EU & vice versa. Grateful to EU members, personally to Ursula von der Leyen, Kadri Simson & everyone, thanks to whom we now have a single energy system!” Zelensky said on Twitter.
ENERGY UNION, EUROPEAN POWER SYSTEMS, MEMBER, SYNCHRONIZATION, UKRAINE
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
