Ukraine taps European energy market as Kyiv begins exporting electricity
New deal with European system will provide an estimated $1.6 billion in revenue to Ukraine by the end of the year
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Kyiv has successfully tapped into the European energy market in a move that will allow it to export and import electricity as Europe looks to break energy reliance on Russia amid its deadly war in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Minister of Energy Herman Galushchenko said Tuesday the European energy system, ENTSO-E, will begin commercial electricity exports Thursday under Ukraine’s electricity transmission system Ukrenergo.
28 October 2021, Brandenburg, Cottbus: Steam rises from the cooling towers of the Jänschwalde lignite-fired power plant behind the Cottbus Baltic Sea. It is to be taken off the grid and shut down by 2028 on the way to the coal phase-out. (Photo by Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The exports will begin in smaller quantities with the initial export volume hovering around 100 megawatts (MW).
Galushchenko said export electricity volumes will gradually increase following monthly impact assessments by the ENTSO-E on the European energy system, first reported Pravda.
"Technically, our power system can already provide up to 1,690 MW of capacity for export. After additional technical measures, the capacity to sell electricity abroad can increase to 4-5 GW [gigawatts]," the minister said.
Ukraine will only initially transmit electricity to Romania, but transmissions are expected to begin exporting to Slovakia and Hungary along with Moldova – Romania transmissions later this year.
Board chairman of Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, championed the move saying, "This decision finally breaks the 'aquarium' of the closed Ukrainian energy market and at the same time brings us closer to full integration into the European energy space."
BUCHA, KYIV, UKRAINE - 2022/06/10: Men work by a damaged electrical grid. As fierce fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, towns like Bucha close to Kyiv that were devastated in the early days of the Russian invasion, are now trying to return to a se … (Photo by Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The new transmission deal will connect Ukraine to the synchronous zone of continental Europe, the world’s largest power grid system which encompasses 35 countries, and will allow Kyiv to import energy from these nations as well.
Galushchenko said the deal will not only provide a source of financial income that Ukraine desperately needs as the war with Russia continues, but will allow European nations to stabilize their energy markets.
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"European countries, in turn, will be able to ensure a more stable energy supply and, most importantly, to replace Russia's energy resources," he said.
E.ON, Europe's largest operator of energy networks, rejected demands to shut down the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline as part of sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, the company told Rheinische Post newspaper. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File / AP Newsroom)
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According to Ukrainian news outlets, Kyiv expects to receive nearly $1.6 billion in electricity export revenues from the European Union by the end of the year. This income rate is expected to increase as it continues and expands electricity transmissions to various European nations.
The Ukrainian Energy Ministry has estimated that the new deal could replace up to 17% of Russia’s gas exports to the EU, which has pledged to cut 90% of Russian gas imports by the end of the year.