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for International Development (USAID) representative Samantha Power told the Associated Press on January 18.
Ukraine asks for an increase in European electricity imports. The Minister of Energy of Ukraine, Herman Galushchenko, held a meeting of the International High-Level Advisory Council on Energy Security in Ukraine. Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, US Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm, EU energy ministers, and representatives from relevant European institutions attended the energy Ramstein meeting. Galushchenko emphasized that Ukraine has an electricity generation deficit, especially during peak hours. However, it can be quickly reduced through a significant increase in electricity imports from EU countries. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to eliminate technical limitations. The minister emphasized that this will significantly increase the stable operation of Ukraine’s energy system.
Ukraine's energy system situation is complicated by maintenance on one of the NPP units. On January 3, one of the units of the state energy company Energoatom was taken offline for a scheduled overhaul. The company noted that planned overhauls are carried out once every four years to ensure nuclear and radiation safety under the license terms. Therefore, in the near future, eight nuclear power plant units located in plants in the state-controlled territory will operate in Ukraine’s energy system. However, all six power units of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP have stopped, and the invaders are preventing their start-up. Currently, the Zaporizhzhia NPP is constantly consuming electricity for its own needs from the energy system of Ukraine. As well, according to the state energy company, the load on the power system is gradually increasing due to high consumption levels, mainly from industrial enterprises.
The Energy Ministry of Ukraine is counting on an increase in electricity imports from Europe, which have already been in small volumes since the beginning of the year thanks to the government's recent decision to guarantee energy supplies to consumers of expensive imported electricity, Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko said. As previously reported by the Ministry of Energy, to date, the agreed commercial flows between the EU countries and Ukraine (together with Moldova) amount to 0.7 GW at night and 0.6 GW during the day. These volumes are not enough to fully cover the capacity deficit during the evening peak hours, however, attracting imports will significantly reduce the volume of imbalance.
Ukrainian entrepreneurs are importing 200-300 MW of electricity per hour. On January 21, Ukrainian industrial enterprises started importing electricity in the amount of 200-300 MW per hour, with a total national consumption of 12,000 MW per hour, said the chairman of the parliamentary committee on energy issues, Andrii Gerus. He clarified that this is not a very large volume in the context of the overall energy system. This import is carried out by certain enterprises where only 10% of electricity is used for continuous production, but it is extremely necessary. At the same time, European electricity is two to three times more expensive than in Ukraine. In general, such imports are useful, making it possible to balance the power system’s operation, but these imports amount to only about 2% of total consumption.
Ukrainian businesses will be allowed to import electricity from the EU to avoid blackouts. The Cabinet of Ministers approved a regulation that deals with the peculiarities of the import of electric energy during the autumn-winter period of 2022/2023 under martial law. The document creates conditions for supplying imported electricity to consumers on a market basis, along with additional protection against planned forced shutdowns due to existing balance constraints in the combined energy system. Electricity selection restrictions will not apply to consumers supplied with imported electricity until April 30, 2023.
58 UKRAINE Country Report February 2023 www.intellinews.com