EU ambassador discusses plans to assist Ukraine with electricity

The European Union plans to increase capacity for electricity exports to Ukraine and provide equipment to support its battered energy system during the winter months.

Source: Katarína Mathernová, Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine, in an interview with European Pravda

Details: Mathernová said preparations for measures to assist Ukraine have been ongoing for several months.

Quote from Mathernová: "First of all, there are active discussions with ENTSO-E – the operators of the European continental grid, to which Ukraine and Moldova are connected – about increasing the capacity of the interconnection."

Details: The ambassador clarified that this is not about expanding the export lines, but rather increasing the regulatory limit, which is currently set at 1.7 gigawatts, even though there is technical capacity to go above 2 gigawatts. 

In addition, the EU has allocated €200 million in grants for Ukraine.

Quote: "Half of [these funds will go] through the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna and half through [the German development bank] KfW. One [part] to support Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian grid operator; and one for the repair of the thermal power plants, because that’s where you can get the highest amount of gigawatts in the quickest amount of time; and a little bit for the repair of renewable energy sources," Mathernová explained.

She also mentioned the large energy equipment being supplied to Ukraine through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, not only from member states but also from other partners. The EU organises and pays for the logistics. Ukraine has already received over 1,000 large industrial generators through this mechanism, Mathernová said.

Watch the full interview with Katarína Maternova about winter preparations in Ukraine, funding for weapons, and the country's EU membership

She added that the EU is currently helping to deliver large turbines to Ukraine, which will also aid the country in preparing for winter.

Mathernová emphasised that the current preparations for winter highlight how important it is for Ukraine to invest in distributed, decentralised energy sources throughout the country, making small-scale generation a priority. This means engaging local communities and businesses in the process.

Quote: "This is not something that only big energy companies and the state can invest in. You can have businesses from other sectors actually investing in local production. And in the mix of production, you can have [energy produced from] biomass, geothermal [energy] with battery storage and renewable energy. You can have a mixture of different sources, and that, typically, is more resilient," she concluded.

Background: Katarína Mathernová believes that with its energy system damaged by Russian attacks, Ukraine will face a difficult winter, but the situation will not be catastrophic.

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