Ukraine becomes part of the EU energy system
Ekonomichna Pravda – Wednesday, 16 March 2022, 15:58
Ukraine has become part of the European Union’s Energy Union, meaning that it has joined the European ENTSO-E energy network, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine wrote on Twitter.
"The joining together of the Ukrainian and the European energy systems has now been finalised. Now our electricity can flow to Europe and European electricity to Ukraine. I am grateful to the EU member states, to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, and everyone else who has helped to ensure that we now have a joint energy system," Zelenskyy wrote.
This means that the Ukrainian energy system has officially joined the European energy network (ENTSO-E).
From now on, the flow of electricity between Ukraine on the one hand, and Belarus and Russia on the other, will become impossible. Ukraine will become entirely integrated with the European energy market, with all its advantages and disadvantages.
Ukrainian producers will be able to export energy at higher prices than domestic ones, but imported energy may also be more expensive (than domestic energy).
Background:
- Ukraine was already supposed to join the European energy system by the end of 2022, but in the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Ukraine refused to remain part of a joint system with Russia.
- Therefore, Ukraine appealed to the energy ministers of European countries to speed up the decision to join the Ukrainian energy system to the European one. The European Commission and the Association of European Electricity Networks agreed to start the process of Ukraine’s emergency connection to the EU's single energy network.
- In preparation for synchronisation with the ENTSO-E European energy network, Ukraine has invested more than 600 million euros in the modernisation of its energy system.
