Russia's attacks on Ukraine's power grid underscore critical need for energy system overhaul - EU envoy
Ukraine lost several decades when it could have built a decentralized energy system, but in the past two years there has been a turning point, and Russia’s latest attacks once again confirm the need for investments in a distributed energy system and decentralized electricity production, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has said.
"I think that the more destruction there is, the more there is a consensus in this country, which was not there two years ago, that we really need to invest in distributed, decentralized electricity production. I think we now have a consensus on this," she said at the Kyiv International Economic Forum in Kyiv on Thursday.
The EU ambassador added that Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, which recently commissioned 200 MW of energy storage facilities (ESP) together with the American company Fluence, has made significant progress in this direction.
Maternova noted that within the framework of the investment component of the Ukraine Facility program, the EU is working with partner financial institutions on investments in renewable energy sources, decentralized electricity generation, and biofuels.
She also emphasized that the EU continues to provide Ukraine with a wide range of support in terms of supplying equipment for repairs, purchasing gas, and supporting the electricity system.
"We are collecting some additional resources, but we are also reorienting others, because after all, money does not grow on trees. So we are considering some priorities and seeing how they can be redistributed. We are also doing this with our partners from international financial institutions," the EU ambassador noted.
At the same time, she emphasized the importance of Ukraine continuing reforms in the energy sector, further integrating the energy system with the European one, and reducing monopolies through the development of competition and the transition to market pricing.
"And that allowed us to actually support both electricity generation and electricity distribution, etc., across a wide range of programs to help anticipate and prepare a little bit, particularly for this season," the EU ambassador said.
