After months of Russian rocket fire, Ukraine is now planning to resume exporting electricity to the West. “The Ukrainian power grid has been working for almost two months without any consumption restrictions and with a power reserve,” said Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, according to a statement on Friday. This would generate additional financial resources for the reconstruction of the destroyed and damaged energy infrastructure.
An export of a maximum of 400 megawatts was agreed with the European energy supply network, to which Ukraine was connected shortly after the beginning of the war. The actual amount of export will depend on the needs of Ukrainian consumers, Halushchenko said. “Supplying our consumers with electrical energy is undoubtedly a priority.”
Despite Russia’s invasion more than 13 months ago, Ukraine exported electricity to neighboring ex-Soviet Moldova and the European Union from June until the start of targeted Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy supplies in October. In 2022, power generation in Ukraine fell by over 27 percent due to the Russian invasion. Among other things, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant near Zaporizhia, which has been under Russian control since March, was completely shut down in September.