According to Vladimir Velichko, a member of the supervisory board of Centrenergo, Ukraine may return to hourly power outages starting next week.
Points of attention
- Ukraine may reintroduce hourly blackout schedules as temperatures are expected to significantly decrease next week.
- The increase in energy consumption due to cold weather in EU countries may lead to a rise in electricity prices in Ukraine.
- Efforts are being made to strengthen the energy system in Ukraine, including adding almost 1 GW of generating capacity in preparation for the winter period.
- The revision of price caps by NEURKU aims to support commercial imports of electricity during critical weather conditions.
- Emergency assistance from neighboring countries may be needed to balance the energy system if internal resources are insufficient.
What is known about the return to hourly blackout schedules
Velichko noted that next week, according to weather forecasters, a significant decrease in temperature should occur in Ukraine.
In this regard, energy workers will be forced to use emergency assistance from neighboring partner countries to balance the energy system.
But to use emergency assistance, you need to make the most of your own resources. If NEC Ukrenergo fails to maintain the balance of the energy system, shutdown schedules will be applied,” — explains a representative of the supervisory board of Centerenergo.
He also added that after the daily average temperature decreased in October, the energy system is already seeing a significant increase in consumption, and its peak has shifted from 20:00 to 19:10.
What is known about the likely rise in electricity prices
At the same time, Velichko emphasized that against the backdrop of cold weather, energy consumption will increase in EU countries, which will lead to an increase in electricity prices, including due to a decrease in the share of renewable sources.
In his opinion, this will affect the possibilities of commercial import of electricity due to price restrictions existing on the Ukrainian spot market — price caps.
Currently, the energy regulator NEURKU has begun the process of revising price caps upward, which is supported by the majority of energy market participants, and some propose to abolish them altogether. This is a painful topic for consumers, but it is necessary to understand that without increasing price caps, commercial imports of electricity will be unavailable, especially during periods of sharp cold weather. Emergency assistance will cost much more,” — explains Velichko.
He also noted that, in preparation for the winter period, restoration work continues at energy facilities in Ukraine, and it is planned to add almost 1 GW of generating capacity to the energy system.
