Consequences of the War and the Future Energy System of Ukraine
In particular, 19 TPP power units were damaged, four units of thermal power plants were stopped, and eight units of hydroelectric power plants were damaged. In addition, according to the Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko, as of the end of the last heating season, Ukraine's energy system temporarily lost 75% of wind and more than 20% of solar generation due to Russia’s military actions. The scale of losses is so large since about 75% of all available capacities of the sector are located in the partially occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Therefore, about 1,317 MW out of 1,755 MW of wind power capacity were lost.
As for the recovery of the industry, it will be quite expensive and will require external funds. Today, about UAH 7 billion is needed to restore the equipment thermal power plants belonging to the company DTEK alone. The gas transportation system (GTS) of Ukraine suffered less in comparison with the thermal power industry. GTS is damaged in cities where fierce fighting continues and which are constantly subjected to missile attacks, primarily in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and the front-line cities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. However, in general, the gas transportation system works, both internal gas transportation and transit take place. At the same time, the domestic GTS, which had problems even before the war, faced new challenges, including a decrease in transit or its complete cessation, a decrease in domestic consumption, growing debts for balancing, and a 35% decrease in payments for transit.
How can the energy system of Ukraine be restored? How to prepare for the 2023-24 heating season? How to overcome the fundamental problem of the unified energy system of Ukraine - low flexibility? How helpful could energy storage systems be? Does it make sense to decentralize Ukraine's energy system, and what technical difficulties will have to be overcome?
We sought answers to these questions together with the Kyiv School of Energy Policy during a series of webinars and round tables in May-June 2023.
Among the events’ speakers were Hennadiy Ryabtsev, an expert in public policy in the fuel and energy sectors; Ildar Saleev, General Director, DTEK Energo; Oleksandr Dyachuk, Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, leading researcher; Serhiy Makogon, former general director of "Operator GTS of Ukraine" LLC, Oleksandra Azarkhina, Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine, and other experts and officials working in the field of energy.
Following these links, you can find the articles and video recordings of the meetings.
Round table "Challenges and opportunities for a centralized energy system" (UA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL3_hT2F2fE
Round table "Challenges and opportunities for de-centralized energy system of Ukraine" (UA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKF
Round table "Searching for an Effective Model of the Energy System of Ukraine" (UA)
