Upcoming winter will be most difficult for Ukraine's energy sector – International Energy Agency

The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that the upcoming winter will become the most serious test for Ukraine's energy sector since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion.

Source: The Guardian

Quote from The Guardian: "The upcoming winter will be the most serious test for Ukraine's energy network since the Russian invasion, as numerous power plants have been destroyed or damaged."

Details: The IEA proposed ten measures to restore Ukraine's energy infrastructure but did not say which ones.

"Ukraine's energy system has survived the last two winters… But this winter will certainly be the most severe test yet," IEA Director General Fatih Birol said in a press release accompanying the report.

The report states that in 2022 and 2023, "about half of Ukraine's generating capacity was occupied by Russian forces, destroyed or damaged, and about half of the large grid substations were damaged by missiles and drones."

Ukraine has lost more than two-thirds of its electricity generation capacity since the Russian invasion, so there is a "significant gap between available electricity supply and peak demand."

Birol says Ukraine's energy system will face its biggest energy security challenges this winter.

He called on European countries to speed up the supply of equipment and spare parts to restore damaged facilities and take measures to protect them from drone attacks.

Background:

• The experts interviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) report that power cuts will last from 4 to 18 hours daily in winter.

• The EU's energy aid to Ukraine ahead of the upcoming winter will be "in three areas: repair, connection and stabilisation".

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