The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on June 30 approved a $212 million financing package for private joint-stock company Ukrhydroenergo for installation of hybrid systems for electricity production.
“The project will enhance the flexibility of the Ukrainian power system to help synchronize it with the European electricity grid and decarbonize the power sector,” the World Bank said.
The $212 million financing package includes a $177 million International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan, a $34 million Clean Technology Fund (CTF) concessional loan, and a $1 million CTF grant for a new project in Ukraine.
“The World Bank’s financing will help mitigate technical risks associated with synchronizing Ukraine’s power grid with the European electricity grid and will help decarbonize it by facilitating greater integration of renewable energy,” the World Bank said.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the decision to attract a $211 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the Clean Technologies Fund (CTF) for PrJSC Ukrhydroenergo as part of an investment project to improve the sustainability of the integrated power system (IPS) for European integration, providing for the establishment of hybrid power generation systems, the Ministry of Energy has said.
According to the report, the decision, initiated by the Ministry of Energy, was made at a government meeting on Wednesday, although it was not on the agenda and was not discussed during the broadcast.
“To implement the project, loans will be attracted in the amount of $177 million from the IBRD and $34 million from the Clean Technologies Fund,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry, these funds will be channeled, in particular, for the installation of 197 Li ion battery energy storage systems at Ukrhydroenergo facilities, which are planned to be attracted to provide auxiliary services for frequency and power support. In addition, it is planned to install 63.9 MW of photovoltaic plants for the own needs of HPPs and PSPs and for charging the energy storage systems.
“Hybrid power generation plants based on battery storage will allow Ukrhydroenergo to provide the transmission system operator with an additional frequency regulation reserve and expand the regulating range of the automatic frequency recovery reserve required to ensure reliable operation and compliance with the operational safety of the IPS of Ukraine and good quality of electrical energy,” the ministry said.
At the same time, the Ministry of Energy said that highly maneuverable and fast-acting reserves, in terms of their parameters, have no analogues in the IPS of Ukraine.
The terms and conditions of the loans were not disclosed.
At the same time, the Ministry of Energy added that the Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft decree of the President of Ukraine on the delegation for negotiating and concluding guarantee agreements with financial institutions.
According to government resolution No. 550 dated June 2, 2021, published on the government portal, loans from the IBRD and CTF will be attracted by Ukrhydroenergo under government guarantees, the payment for which is 0.5% per annum of the selected and outstanding loan amount.
PrJSC Ukrhydroenergo in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020 increased its net profit by 3.5 times (by UAH 1.626 billion), to UAH 2.278 billion, according to its financial statements on the website.
According to the company’s reporting, the net income of Ukrhydroenergo for January-March of this year increased by 1.65 times (by UAH 1.810 billion), to UAH 4.602 billion, gross profit – twofold (by UAH 1.797 billion), to UAH 3.468 billion.
At the same time, the cost of goods sold is UAH 1.133 billion, which is almost UAH 13 million higher than last year’s figure (UAH 1.120 billion).
The press service of the company noted that following the results of work in the first quarter, the company fully paid its obligations to the budgets of all levels, the volume of payments amounted to UAH 794.3 million.
As reported, Ukrhydroenergo in 2020 increased its net profit by 28.4% compared to 2019, to UAH 4.137 billion.
PJSC Ukrhydroenergo began start-up operations at the hydroelectric unit four of the Dnistrovska pumped storage power plant (PSPP) on December 22 and plans to complete the work on launching the unit in summer 2021, the company has said.
“The launch took place as usual, and all systems worked in accordance with the program. Absolutely all parameters of the hydraulic unit, temperature and vibration modes are normal. This is just the beginning of a whole stage of important work, which we plan to complete in six months and put the hydraulic unit into commercial operation,” Chief Engineer of Ukrhydroenergo Vadym Rassovsky said.
Earlier, the head of the company, Ihor Syrota, announced his intention to put hydroelectric unit four of Dnistrovska PSPP into industrial operation in the first quarter of 2021
Preparatory work for the construction of Dnistrovska PSPP began back in 1983, the first unit was launched in 2009, the second in 2013, and the third in 2015. The capacity of unit four will be 324 MW in generator mode and 421 MW in pumping mode.
A total of seven hydroelectric units with a total capacity of 2,268 MW (324 MW each) in generator mode and 2,947 MW (421 MW each) in pumping mode are planned to be built at the PSPP.
Ukrhydroenergo operates all large hydroelectric power plants located on the Ukrainian sections of the Dnipro and Dniester Rivers. The total installed electric capacity of the hydroelectric power plants of the generating company is 5,744.8 MW. The state represented by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine fully owns the company’s shares.
Electrotyazhmash together with its main partner Turboatom (Kharkiv) sees an opportunity to increase the order portfolio for JSC Ukrhydroenergo, which operates all major hydroelectric power stations in the Ukrainian sections of the Dnipro and Dniester Rivers, by two to three times in the next two years, Viktor Busko, who was suspended at his request from performing the duties of director general of the enterprise, has said.
“At present, together with the main partner Turboatom, a project is underway to modernize Ukrhydroenergo’s turbo generating equipment, in the future it is planned to jointly participate in no less large projects at Ukrainian nuclear power plants. The prospect of working with Ukrhydroenergo is very serious. We see an opportunity to increase the portfolio of orders by two to three times over the next two years,” Busko told Interfax-Ukraine.
He recalled that such large projects are exhibited according to international procurement procedures and attract all the world’s top manufacturers of generators and turbines.
“However, we are confident in our abilities and Electrotyazhmash has every chance not only to compete, but also to receive these orders, subject to careful preparation of documents and a very balanced approach to pricing its services. Our products are not inferior in quality, while there’s not a single reason why our price should be higher than the Austrian or American,” he said.
He said that there were debts for the delivered products in the Electrotyazhmash-Turboatom-Ukrhydroenergo supply chain.
Private joint-stock company Ukrhydroenergo in 2018 saw a 2.5-fold rise in net profit compared with 2019, to UAH 3.668 billion, the company’s press service has reported.
Net revenue grew by 39.25, to UAH 7.961 billion.
As reported, in 2017, the company saw a 33.7% fall in net profit, to UAH 1.466 billion. Net revenue decreased 4.7%, to UAH 5.716 billion.
Ukrhydroenergo operates all the major hydroelectric power plants located in the Ukrainian parts of the Dnipro and Dniester rivers. The total installed electric capacity of the hydropower plants of the company (103 hydroelectric units) is 5,758 MW. The state represented by the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry fully owns the company’s shares.
