NEC Ukrenergo has resumed operation of a high-voltage power transmission line necessary to supply power to the needs of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (NPP).
“At present, the plant has already switched from a backup to a normal power supply scheme,” the NEC said on Facebook on Saturday.
Ukrenergo recalled that ZNPP lost contact with the power grid overnight during another Russian attack. Two lines were damaged – 750 and 330 kV, which transmit electricity to meet the plant’s own needs.
Ukrenergo dispatchers were able to put ZNPP’s main 750 kV main power supply line back into operation. At present, the plant receives the electricity necessary for its safe operation from the unified energy system of Ukraine.
At the same time, power supply to consumers in Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk region has not stopped, reserve lines have been activated to meet their needs.
“Ukrenergo repair crews will start restoring damaged high-voltage lines as soon as the security situation permits. Thanks to the PVO for the flawless work, without which the damage in the power system could have been much larger,” – summarized in the NEC.
As reported, at 02:31 during the air alarm was de-energized line “Zaporizhzhya NPP – Dniprovska”. Due to the complete blackout ZNPP switched to supply its needs from diesel generators. The greatest safety threat in such a state exists at Unit 4.
high-voltage power transmission line, UKRENERGO, Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant
Ukrainian courts are considering 443 cases on claims filed by NPC Ukrenergo against its debtors for a total principal debt of about UAH 50 billion, the company’s website reported on Friday.
At the same time, Ukrenergo called on the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission to reconsider its decisions prohibiting the application of penalties to debtors and entities that postpone payments for the company’s services.
“The Commission’s decisions deprived the company of key tools for working with debtors. In particular, the NEURC Resolution No. 332 of February 25, 2022 (clause 16) prohibits “the accrual and collection of penalties provided for by contracts concluded in accordance with the law on the electricity market between participants in this market,” NPC said.
According to the company, by its decisions, the NEURC actually allowed the debtors not to pay Ukrenergo for the services provided, primarily for transmission and dispatching, depriving them of the “punishment” for late payment and accumulation of debts.
They also noted that in July 2022, Ukrenergo officially asked the NEURC to check companies that systematically fail to pay for electricity transmission services, but as a result, it has not been able to receive payments in full from the largest debtors for more than a year.
“The reason is that the Commission ordered to postpone payment for electricity transmission services for them. In 2023, by its decision, NEURC extended the possibility of postponing payments to Ukrenergo to large debtors,” explained NPC.
As reported, two days earlier, NEURC stated that the solution to the issue of debts in the electricity market is not to set a new tariff for transmission services, as Ukrenergo insists, but to establish effective economic activity, in particular, the company’s claim work with debtors for the payment of transmission tariffs, dispatch control and services in the balancing market, whose debts amounted to UAH 48.8 billion at the end of September.
For its part, Ukrenergo said that “realizing the sensitivity of the issue of electricity cost for Ukrainian business, it has prepared and sent to the NEURC three options for changing the company’s tariffs for transmission and dispatching services.”
“To cover its debts in the electricity market, Ukrenergo attracted loans from state and international banks and issued green bonds worth UAH 45.79 billion.
As of the end of October, the company’s receivables amounted to approximately UAH 60 billion, while its payables amounted to UAH 50 billion.
Investigative actions are underway at the headquarters of NPC Ukrenergo on Wednesday, the company’s press service reports.
According to the press service, the searches are being conducted by the Prosecutor General’s Office on the basis of a ruling of the Pechersk District Court of August 30, 2023.
“Ukrenergo facilitates investigative actions and voluntarily provides representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office with all the documents specified in the ruling. It should be noted that the company would have voluntarily provided the investigators with all the necessary documents without conducting a search. However, no such request was received from law enforcement officers,” the NPC said in a statement.
Ukrenergo clarified that from the list of documents of interest to law enforcement officers, some contracts were subject to an audit by the State Audit Service, which completed the audit of the company in March this year.
“Ukrenergo is challenging the results of the SASU audit in court, as it considers them biased and unprofessional, and some of them directly contradict the law. It is unfortunate that energy companies, like defense companies during the war, are forced to fight against the biased conclusions of the SASU. This is not conducive to effective preparation for the heating season, nor to increasing the country’s defense capability,” the company summarized.
PJSC “National Energy Company (NEC) “Ukrenergo” on July 6 announced the intention to conclude with the insurance group “TAS” for voluntary health insurance services for 8.522 thousand people.
As reported in the system of electronic public procurement Prozorro, the expected cost of the purchase of services is 46.678 million UAH, the price offer of the company – 38.941 million UAH.
The tender was also attended by IC ROM Ukraine with a price offer of UAH 38.626m, VUSO – UAH 44.989mn, Unica – UAH 45.553mn.
“Ukrenergo unites eight regional power systems: Dnipro, Donbas, Western, Crimean, Southern, South-Western, Northern and Central.
“Ukrenergo” operates backbone and interstate power transmission lines, as well as performs centralized dispatching of the country’s united power system. NEC is a state-owned enterprise subordinated to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.
SG TAS was registered in 1998. It is a universal company offering its clients more than 80 types of insurance products on various types of voluntary and compulsory insurance. It has an extensive regional network of 28 regional directorates and branches.
The blowing up of the Kakhovskaya HPP (Dnipropetrovsk Region) has not directly affected the situation in the country’s energy system and there is no threat to power supply stability, the Ministry of Energy and NEC Ukrenergo said on Tuesday. As of June 6, there was enough electricity generated to cover consumers’ needs.
“Experts of the Ministry of Energy and Ukrhydroenergo are studying the potential impact of the disaster on the volume of hydro generation. The actual level of electricity generated so far corresponds to the planned one,” the ministry noted, in particular.
It also confirmed the information about the absence of a direct threat to the Zaporizhzhya NPP,
“The situation at ZNPP. Despite the gradual decrease in the water level, there is no direct threat to the occupied plant. Energoatom experts are constantly monitoring the situation,” the ministry stated.
At the same time there is a risk of flooding of power facilities in the Kherson region, in particular, the Kherson CHPP, because of the dam detonation. Because of the underflooding in Kherson almost 12 thousand consumers in the area of Ostrov are already de-energized, there may be problems with water supply. Preventive anti-crisis measures are being prepared.
In turn, Ukrenergo reminded that from the first days of aggression, the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was occupied and mined by the Russians. Technological connection with it has been lost, the output of power to the controlled territory of Ukraine from the plant was not made.
“Tonight the aggressor country committed another act of terrorism at the civilian infrastructure facility, which is a tragedy for our fellow citizens and a large-scale environmental catastrophe. “Ukrenergo will further report on the impact of the consequences of the disaster on the state of the energy system,” the NEC said.
In addition, according to the ministry and Ukrenergo, overnight Russian shelling damaged regional power grids in Kherson, Kharkiv, Sumy and Donetsk regions. In the Kiev region, there is damage to oblenergo networks due to the falling debris of a hostile target shot down by Ukrainian air defenses.
“Due to previous shelling, some consumers in Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions also remain without power. Repair crews are working where the security situation allows it,” the Ministry of Energy added.
In addition, according to Ukrenergo, in the morning and partially in the afternoon of June 6, electricity is exported to Poland. During the daytime, there are imports from Slovakia. There are no imports or exports in the evening.
According to the Ministry of Energy, commercial imports of electricity on June 5 amounted to 1,031 MWh, while exports to Poland amounted to 1,800 MWh.
The powerful interstate power transmission line between Poland and Ukraine modernized by NEC Ukrenergo together with Polish transmission system operator PSE has successfully passed a three-day test since April 27, the NEC said.
According to Ukrenergo, the total cost of the project amounted to 350 million UAH, in addition, about 1 thousand tons of necessary equipment was provided for free by Polish partners.
The company explained that the bulk of the work was done in this node, so that the electricity produced by the Ukrainian power system could be converted to the European voltage of 400 kV and transmitted to Europe.
“It was a complex but mutually beneficial project that we implemented in cooperation with our European colleagues. It is important both for Ukraine and the energy security of Europe,” commented Volodymyr Kudrytsky, chairman of the board of Ukrenergo, as quoted in the company’s Telegram feed on Tuesday.
According to him, the line will strengthen links between the Ukrainian and European energy systems, constituting an additional element of European energy security and contributing to the development of a stable energy network in Ukraine.
“If the needs are different, we will be able to import electricity from Europe,” Kudritsky said.
The NEC added that the total length of the line is almost 400 km, more than 70% of which runs through Ukraine. The line is connected to the backbone network through an open switchgear on one of the Ukrainian power facilities. On the construction of the facility from the Ukrainian side for five months during the war worked 125 specialists – 45 employees of “Ukrenergo” and 80 contractors.
At the same time, Polish operator PSE on its auction platform on Tuesday announced a one-month auction to allocate available cross-section capacity on the Rzeszow-Khmelnitsky line for delivery from May 15-31. The capacity offered in the auction is 200 MW for exports from Ukraine and 350 MW for imports from Poland. Under the auction terms, bids from bidders will be accepted until May 8 at 16:00, with the results to be announced by the same time on May 10. Since NEC Ukrenergo during the war can only conduct daily auctions according to the requirements of ENTSO-E, it has to conduct them two days before the delivery day, i.e. the first can be expected on May 13 for the same capacity to be distributed by the Polish operator.
At the same time, the market notes that for the first week of May, Ukrenergo does not distribute cross-section capacity on the Dobrotvir-Zamosc line, through which DTEK Zakhidenergo exports 75MW hourly to Poland, due to a number of holidays in this country and the failure to hold auctions by the Polish operator.
As reported, the reconstructed 400 kV line between KNPP and Rzeszow was scheduled to be put into operation at the end of April. Reconstruction of the 750 kV Khmelnitsky NPP (KNPP) – Rzeszow line, which has not been in operation since the 1990s, provided for its transfer to the 400 kV voltage used in the European grid. Its launch allows for a 25-30% increase in Ukrainian export potential. The line will operate in synchronous mode, i.e. all participants of the Ukrainian and European markets will have access to it.
