Power system needs private investment to cover generation deficit – Ukrenergo CEO
Investment in the construction of new generation facilities is what will benefit both investors themselves and Ukraine’s power system, said Vitalii Zaichenko, CEO of NPC Ukrenergo, during online participation in a meeting of the European Business Association’s management board.
During the meeting, he briefed representatives of Ukraine’s largest financial and industrial groups on the current situation in the energy sector and near-term prospects.
"Since October last year, the enemy has been carrying out complex attacks on energy facilities, using a very broad arsenal of weapons, from rocket artillery to guided aerial bombs, attack drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Many generation, transmission, and distribution facilities in most regions of Ukraine have been damaged," Zaichenko said.
According to him, an acute capacity deficit has emerged in the power system, which cannot yet be covered by existing generation and electricity imports. Under such conditions, attracting private investment in the construction of generation facilities is critically important for Ukraine’s energy sector.
As the head of Ukrenergo recalled, thanks to special auctions conducted by the company over the past year, 423 MW of new generating capacity have been added to the power system.
"We are grateful to businesses that are investing in projects that strengthen the resilience of the power system under such difficult conditions," he said.
Zaichenko also stressed the importance of connecting to the grid those generating facilities that businesses and industry currently use exclusively as backup power sources in the event of scheduled or emergency outages.
"If such facilities operated on the electricity market, they could cover part of the capacity deficit in the power system while simultaneously generating profit for their owners," he noted.
According to preliminary expert estimates, the total deficit of operable generation capacity in Ukraine currently exceeds 4 GW.