National Energy Company Ukrenergo has launched second 750/330 kV 999 MVA autotransformer at the Kyivska 750 kV substation, the press service of the enterprise has reported.
The press service said that the new AT-1 has the SERGI modern monitoring and fire protection system. The monitoring system allows remotely monitoring the main modes of operation of the AT-1, generates warning and alarm signals regarding the limiting modes of its operation, allows tracking the technical condition of the autotransformer and, if necessary, taking measures in a timely manner.
The project to install the second autotransformer at the Kyivska substation was implemented by Ukrenergo together with the Croatian company Dalekovod at the expense of loan funds from the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
According to Deputy Director for Operational Management, Chief Dispatcher of Ukrenergo Vitaliy Zaichenko, the establishment of the second autotransformer reduced the load on the existing 750/330 kV autotransformers in Kyiv region, which, in turn, increases the reliability of power supply to Kyiv region and city.
“After the completion of the construction of diversions of the Chornobyl NPP-Kyivska and Pivnichna-Kyivska 330 kV transmission lines, which will connect the Kyivska 750 kV substation to the 330 kV networks of the Kyiv energy complex, this substation will provide 1 GW of additional power to the Rivne and Khmelnytsky NPPs. This will reduce the dependence of consumer power on the generation of Kyiv’s combined heat and power plant five (CHPP) and CHPP six, which burn gas. It will increase the reliability of energy supply and give a new impetus to the industrial and economic development of Kyiv region,” he said.
Ukrenergo operates trunk and interstate transmission lines, as well as centralized dispatching of the country’s integrated power grids. Ukrenergo is a state-owned enterprise under Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, but it will be transformed into a private joint-stock company soon.
The National Commission for the State Regulation of Energy, Housing and Utilities Services (NCER) has removed UAH 215.172 million from the tariff of national energy company Ukrenergo saved on procurement in 2017, which would entail the worsening of financial indicators of the state-run enterprise and its payments to the national budget. The press service of Ukrenergo reported that the commission at a meeting on Tuesday cut the company’s tariff for transmission for December 2018 to 3.45 kopecks per kilowatt.
The company said that only on September 4, 2018 the company was permitted to use UAH 215.17 million saved on procurement and obliged to provide a package of documents amending the investment program before October 1.
On September 21, Ukrenergo provided the commission with all the required information, including the approval of regional administrations and the Ministry of Energy and Coal during public hearings. At the same time, on October 24, it became known that the approvals provided by the company did not suit the commission, which demanded a separate letter of approval of changes from the relevant ministry.
As a result, the commission has withdrawn UAH 215.172 million from the tariff of Ukrenergo. The money at that time was already invested in projects for the construction and modernization of the energy infrastructure.
According to Ukrenergo CEO Vsevolod Kovalchuk, the withdrawal of this amount from the investment program is an unreasonable decision, as a result of which the financial indicators of the enterprise and its contributions to the national budget will decrease.
“In fact, this is a redistribution of funds between the energy market players. These funds should have been channeled to additional financing of transitional strategic facilities that are important for the entire industry. We are concerned that this decision will not lead to a decrease in wholesale electricity prices and will not affect the payments of end consumers, but it will negatively affect the indicators of gross income and profit of the company, its payments to the national budget,” Kovalchuhk said.
According to Ukrenergo, the total amount of the investment program of Ukrenergo for 2018 is UAH 2.61 billion. In the nine months ending September 2018, its actual implementation amounted to 94.2%. At the same time, funding continues for projects launched or pending in 2017.
National Energy Company Ukrenergo, private joint-stock company Ukrhydroenergo, DTEK LLC, public joint-stock company Donbasenergo, public joint-stock company Centrenergo, as well as heads of the Association of Solar Power of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association have urged members of the Ukrainian parliament to extend the preferential period for imports of electric cars.
“The reason for the appeal was the fact that on December 31, 2018, the temporary exemption from VAT and excise tax on imports of electric vehicles expires. At the same time, the Verkhovna Rada did not support amendments to bills Nos. 8487 and 8488 extending these benefits in 2019,” Ukrenergo, which initiated a joint letter with the appeal, said in a report.
According to the document, the entire world is moving in the direction of decarbonization, energy saving and the use of renewable energy, and electric cars are an integral part of this trend. Their presence not only solves environmental problems and reduces the amount of harmful emissions, but also contributes to the emergence of fundamentally new opportunities for the development of the energy system.
In addition, a large number of electric vehicles are a “window” of opportunities for Ukrainian energy. “The Ukrainian energy community shares the opinion that temporary exemption from VAT and excise tax on the importation of electric vehicles into the country will not only stimulate the growth of sales of electric cars, but it is a signal that we are part of the civilized world and are ready for new technological, social and environmental challenges,” the authors of the letter said.
According to their data, in recent years there has been a growing trend in the demand for cars with an electric engine all over the world. In Europe, there are already more than 1 million electric cars, and by the end of 2018, according to forecasts, this number will grow by another 350,000.
“Electric transport has become the object of increased attention of parliaments and governments of developed countries. European states are actively stimulating the growth of the electric vehicle segment through tax incentives to create new opportunities for the development of infrastructure of charging stations and the development of the power grid,” the authors of the letter said.
The Koretsky Institute of State and Law under a request of National Energy Company Ukrenergo has confirmed the absence of powers of the commission for reorganization of Ukrenergo to manage the company’s affairs. According to the findings of the scientific and legal analysis, the text of which Interfax-Ukraine has, the commission created by order of the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry No. 728 dated December 5, 2017, is not vested with the authority to manage the affairs of Ukrenergo and its current activities.
At the same time, according to the findings of the institute, the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry has not authorized the commission to manage the affairs and current activities of Ukrenergo, but only to provide organizational support for the Ukrenergo transformation process.
As reported, the ministry on October 18 said that the commission for reorganization of Ukrenergo, which from October 9 is headed by Blyzniuk, has decided that powers to manage the company are transferred to the commission head, which is aimed at the successful completion of the reorganization process.
Ukrenergo said about the deliberate obstruction of corporatization and the process of the introduction of the electricity market by the commission for reorganization of the company, which members are approved by the ministry.
The business court of Kyiv on October 23 suspended the decision of the commission for reorganization of Ukrenergo about the delegation of powers to manage the company to the head of the commission in the person of Deputy Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Blyzniuk.
LEGAL ANALYSIS, MANAGE COMPANY, POWERS, REORGANIZATION, UKRENERGO
National Energy Company Ukrenergo has urged Ukraine’s Energy and Coal Industry Ministry to announce a tender to build new highly maneuverable generating facilities to balance operation of renewable energy facilities, the company has said on its website. Ukrenergo recalled that in case of further rapid growth of green generation and an increase in its share, problems with its balancing may arise. “According to the results of the analysis, we modeled several scenarios for the development of events, provided that measures were not taken to properly balance green energy. In particular, the main negative consequences will be the restriction of renewable energy sources with the compensation of the feed-in tariff for unproduced electricity or the increase in the volume of coal generation and the restriction of nuclear power, given the need to increase opportunities for balancing. Both scenarios will be a significant obstacle to overcoming dependence on fossil fuels and improving the environment in the country,” the company said.
The company also said that any restrictions on the connection of renewable energy facilities and the provision of technical conditions are prohibited by the Transmission System Code, provided that the customer complies with the requirements of the Code.
“The development of renewable energy in Ukraine is an indicator of the country’s attractiveness to the international community. In this regard, the company expects to continue constructive cooperation with state security agencies in responding to potential threats to the Ukrainian energy system and supporting the initiative to build new highly maneuverable capacities,” Ukrenergo said.
Earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine, in a letter to the Prime Minister, expressed concerns about the destabilization of the country’s energy system due to the “excessive” issuance of technical conditions for the connection of renewable energy facilities.
National energy company Ukrenergo and the electricity transmission system operator SEPS (Slovakia) on October 2, 2018 agreed on building a new power line as an optimal solution for boosting power transmission between Ukraine and Slovakia, the press service of Ukrenergo has reported. “According to the agreements, a new 400 kV overhead line will be built, which will connect the existing 400 kV substations Mukachevo and Velke Kapusany in the single-circuit version with the possibility of further upgrading it to double-circuit in case of an increase in the volume of interstate flows,” the company said.
According to the press service, the project also envisages reconstruction of the 400 kV open switchgear at the Mukachevo substation. “In the next three or four years, at the Mukachevo 400 kV substation, it is planned to replace the existing 400/220 kV autotransformer (АТ-3) 400/220 kV (installed in 1964), as well as equipping the 400 kV complete switchgear with gas insulation,” Ukrenergo said.
Considering the condition of the existing 400 kV overhead line Mukachevo-Velke Kapusany, which has been operating since 1963, its modernization was recognized as inexpedient. The line will work until the launch of the new line.
The company recalled that this project is a candidate for projects of mutual interest (PMI), the list of which will be approved by the Council of Ministers of the Energy Community in the autumn of 2018.
BUILDING, ENERGY COMPANY, POWER LINE, POWER TRANSMISSION, SLOVAKIA'S, UKRENERGO
