JSC Energy Company of Ukraine (ECU) is increasing electricity imports from the EU to compensate for losses in the Ukrainian power grid due to hostile attacks. Starting from mid-March, the daily volume of imports by the state-owned trader has increased by an average of 2 times.
The company continues to import electricity from Slovakia and Romania, and in March it also started supplying electricity from Hungary. Today, the company is the second largest importer of electricity in Ukraine.
“Over the past two years, Ukraine, together with the EU, has significantly increased its technical and organizational capabilities for electricity imports, which now plays a crucial role in the stable energy supply of consumers,” said Vitaliy Butenko, CEO of the Energy Company of Ukraine. “Given the continuing massive attacks on energy facilities, the Government of Ukraine continues to actively cooperate with European partners to obtain additional import opportunities.
Reference
Energy Company of Ukraine (ECU) is a national energy trading company that offers comprehensive solutions for the purchase, sale and management of energy resources. The company was established in 2022 without attracting or transferring state assets or property. Revenues are generated by high-tech trading products and instruments.
The company is one of the TOP-5 traders in Ukraine in terms of electricity sales, a leader in cross-border energy trading, and a TOP-2 trader of green electricity.
The company established the first state-owned balancing group of electricity market participants, which is now the second largest in Ukraine. The company’s customers generate 10% of Ukraine’s GDP. The company is 100% owned by the state.
On Saturday, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine invalidated Resolution No. 775 of July 7, 2022 “On Imposing Special Obligations on Electricity Market Participants Engaged in Electricity Export Operations to Ensure Public Interests in the Functioning of the Electricity Market During Martial Law.”
According to the government’s representative in parliament, Taras Melnychuk, this was done “in order to create preconditions for increasing electricity exports to the unified energy system of Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers is considering raising electricity tariffs in the wake of Russia’s new attacks on the energy sector, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said in an interview with Bloomberg.
“Depending on the situation in July and August, we will ask people to save as much as possible. The Russians will not be able to cause a repeat of the blackouts of 2022 and 2023. Even in the event of huge losses, we will have a basic generation that will cover 30% to 50% of our needs,” the minister said.
At the same time, Galushchenko did not rule out an increase in electricity tariffs for households and said that the government is exploring various ways to finance the repair of its energy assets.
“Today the situation is even more complicated than last year, as we have lost a lot of hydropower production and are forced to carry out scheduled repairs of nuclear power units,” he said.
The minister emphasized that Russia’s bombing of Ukrainian energy facilities in recent weeks was more extensive and better planned than the attacks of the previous two years, disabling generating capacity and limiting electricity supplies. As a result, restoring equipment and protecting the power grid have become key priorities for the government, although it is struggling to assess the extent of the damage.
“The destruction was extensive – in power generation and transmission. The situation is complicated. We still do not understand the extent of the damage, as many facilities are still in ruins and we cannot get to them,” explained Galushchenko.
In addition, in the spring of 2024, thermal and hydroelectric power plants became the main targets of Russian strikes. These attacks threaten not only electricity losses but also environmental disasters, Galushchenko said.
“Attacks on hydroelectric power plants are terrorist acts and war crimes, as they affect not only energy production but also the operation of dams on rivers,” the minister said.
Russia’s goal is to destroy Ukraine’s economy, Galushchenko said, adding that more damage to the power system would make it harder to overcome this summer’s consumption peaks.
“We will definitely communicate with people. Everyone wants to live comfortably, but we have to take into account the fact that there are restrictions now,” the minister concluded.
Bloomberg, CABINET OF MINISTERS OF UKRAINE, ELECTRICITY, Herman Galushchenko, tariff increase
During the four months of the 2023-2024 heating season, electricity consumption by the Ukrainian industry amounted to about 9.38 billion kWh, which is 23% more than in November-February 2022-2023 (7.61 billion kWh).
“Due to the stable operation of the power grid, the Ukrainian industry increased electricity consumption by 23% during the heating season,” the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine said on Wednesday.
At the same time, in November 2023, the growth was 25.75% compared to the same period of the previous year, in December – 37.56%, in January 2024 – 27.58%, and in February – 6.17%.
“The development of industry and the economy is impossible without the stable operation of the power system. This is ensured primarily due to large-scale repairs in the energy sector, which will continue in the future, and our military, which protects the infrastructure from enemy attacks,” said Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
During this period, electricity consumption by households also increased by almost 12% – 12.64 billion kWh versus 11.3 billion kWh.
According to the Ministry of Energy, in November-February 2023/2024, Ukrainian power generating enterprises produced more than 41.53 billion kWh of electricity, which is 16% higher than the production volume for the same period in the autumn-winter period (AWP) 2022/2023.
More than half of this electricity was generated by Ukrainian NPPs – 22.17 billion kWh, which is 22% more than in the four months of the previous Winters.
At the same time, HPPs increased electricity production by 7.5% to 4.16 billion kWh, TPPs by 10% to 13 billion kWh, and RES by 25% to 2.03 billion kWh.
Ukraine in February 2024 compared to January has increased the volume of electricity exports 12 times, but reduced the volume of imports by a third, DiXi Group reported with reference to the Energy map portal.
As noted in its report on Friday, Ukraine exported a total of 63.1 thousand MWh (5.2 thousand MWh in January – ER), of which the most – 32% (20 thousand MWh) went to Moldova. Another 30% (19.1 thousand MWh) went to Romania, 20% (12.6 thousand MWh) – to Poland, 14% (9 thousand MWh) – to Slovakia, 4% (2.4 thousand MWh) – to Hungary, to which electricity supplies were resumed after a two-year break with the introduction of joint auctions for the allocation of sections.
It is noted that after February 11, exports exceeded imports on almost all days.
However, at the end of the month, imports were 21 MWh more than exports, totaling 84.1 thousand MWh (one-third less than January’s 122.8 thousand MWh).
40% (33.6 thousand MWh) of this volume came from Slovakia, 34% (28.7 thousand MWh) – from Romania, 16% (13.6 thousand MWh) – from Poland, 7% (6.2 thousand MWh) – from Moldova, 3% (2.1 thousand MWh) – from Hungary.
DiXi Group experts point out that in February 2023 there were no exports at all, while imports were 41% higher at 141.8 thousand MWh.
They also note that last month Ukraine received five times (February 2, 4, 27-29) emergency aid from Poland, which bought back surplus Ukrainian electricity – a total of 5.9 thousand MWh.
On February 7, Ukraine accepted excessive 1.2 thousand MWh from Poland as emergency aid.
There is no shortage of electricity in Ukraine, with 19 generating units of thermal power plants in reserve in the energy system, which will be used if necessary, the Energy Ministry said. According to its update in its Telegram channel on Sunday, electricity imports of 425 MWh are forecast for the current day, up a third from Saturday, and exports of 2,300 MWh are expected, down 6% from yesterday’s figure.
At the same time because of the hostilities remain without light, in particular, more than 43 thousand consumers in 75 settlements of Donetsk region, 25.8 thousand consumers in 45 settlements of Kherson region, 15.5 thousand subscribers in 63 settlements of Kharkiv region, 1119 consumers in 17 settlements of Chernihiv region. In Kherson without voltage – 12.6 thousand consumers. In addition, after shelling from the Russian border 1229 consumers in 6 settlements of Sumy region were de-energized. Repair crews will start work as soon as the security situation allows.
There are also blackouts for technological reasons: almost 5 thousand consumers were left without light in Kyiv region, where 2 overhead lines 10 kV were disconnected, more than 400 consumers – in Odessa region, where 10 kV overhead line was disconnected, and 899 consumers in Sumy region.
As noted by the Ministry of Energy, over the day the energy sector energized 10.4 thousand consumers, most of them in Donetsk region – 9.5 thousand subscribers.
Power supply was also resumed to 405 household and 41 legal consumers in five settlements of Mykolayiv region, which were disconnected due to the fall of debris from a downed UAV on an overhead power line.
As for the situation with gas supply, the Energy Ministry once again reports accidents due to improper use of the resource. Thus, in Kryvyi Rih, according to the preliminary version, due to carbon monoxide poisoning, a woman and a man died. In one of the settlements of Brovarsky district of Kyiv region, probably carbon monoxide poisoned three residents of a private house, but they are in satisfactory condition.
In Dnipro, as a result of a traffic accident, a low-pressure gas pipeline was damaged, there was a gas leak, 22 consumers were disconnected from its distribution.
In Lviv, unknown persons shut off the tap at the gas pipeline inlet to an apartment building – gas supply to 123 apartments was cut off.
As a result of shelling damaged gas distribution networks in Kharkiv region, disconnected 6 consumers.
