Electricity imports will allow large industrial enterprises to guarantee uninterrupted operation in the event of the introduction of electricity consumer restriction schedules due to a shortage of current in the power grid. This was stated by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy, during an online meeting on energy issues with the leadership of the Ministry of Energy, NPC Ukrenergo and representatives of about fifty companies that were large electricity consumers.
“Last year, the Government provided industrial electricity consumers with the opportunity to import electricity and operate stably in the case of a power shortage in the grid. Such companies will not be subject to power supply restrictions if they are introduced. Today, this is not just a tool that businesses can use, it is an urgent need. After all, russia has dealt a powerful blow to our energy companies – about 50% of generating capacity was lost due to the occupation and destruction during the shelling in October 2022 – March 2023. And we have not yet succeeded in restoring them completely. There is a risk that this winter the enemy will continue to deliberately destroy our energy infrastructure. In addition, winter traditionally increases the load on the power system due to increased consumption. Therefore, the probability of a power shortage is high, and the only way to balance the system without restricting consumers – to increase electricity imports,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.
She recalled that Ukraine had the opportunity to import electricity from neighbouring countries such as Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Poland. The volume of electricity imports from Europe is 1700 MW for Ukraine and Moldova.
Non-household consumers have the opportunity to import electricity. The required volume of imports to avoid outages should be 50% of the actual consumption in each billing period (hour) in October-April (heating period) and 30% in May-September, respectively. The conclusion of long-term contracts for electricity imports will allow consumers to get a better price, which may be equal to or even lower than the price on the Ukrainian market.
The companies that will import electricity will not be subject to power supply restrictions if they are introduced to overcome the current deficit. Such consumers may only be subject to special emergency shutdown schedules, which may be introduced to prevent a systemic failure in the integrated power system. (Government portal/Business World Magazine)