The European Union will allocate 160 million euros to Ukraine to strengthen its energy infrastructure and prepare for winter amid possible Russian attacks.
Points of attention
- The EU will provide an additional 160 million euros to Ukraine for the creation of humanitarian heating points and the repair of energy infrastructure.
- Analysts predict that winter blackouts may continue due to rising consumption and insufficient generation.
- Experts point out the difficulties in forecasting the situation in the energy system and the need to prepare for possible attacks on the energy infrastructure.
- Light can be absent for 8-12 hours on some days in regions with a large number of industrial enterprises.
- Additional funds from the EU will allow Ukraine to prepare for the winter season and strengthen the country's energy system.
The EU will allocate an additional 160 million euros to Ukraine
As the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced, the EU will provide an additional 160 million euros this winter, of which 60 million will go to humanitarian aid, including the installation of heating points and the purchase of heaters, and 100 million to repair works and the development of renewable energy.
Russia is trying to plunge Ukraine in the dark with targeted attacks on its energy systems.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 19, 2024
The EU and the @IEA are working to keep the lights on, ahead of the winter.
We will Repair. Connect. And Stabilise the flow of energy in Ukraine ↓ https://t.co/IVcU7tECVc
This 100 million comes from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets in Europe. It is absolutely fair that Russia will pay for what was destroyed, Ursula von der Leyen noted.
She also emphasized that since the beginning of the full-scale war, the EU has provided Ukraine with energy support of approximately 2 billion euros, not including the cost of equipment.
In particular, Ukraine received more than 10,000 generators and transformers through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
What forecasts do analysts make regarding blackouts in winter
According to Gennadiy Ryabtsev, the chief researcher of the National Institute of Strategic Studies, during the coming winter the situation with light may not undergo changes and blackouts will continue.
Unfortunately, nothing will change. Schedules of stabilization shutdowns will still be there, because the increase in generation is compensated by the increase in electricity consumption, Ryabtsev explains.
Meanwhile, the director of energy programs of the Razumkov Center, Volodymyr Omelchenko, notes that it is currently difficult to predict the situation in the energy system for the coming winter.
There are many unknowns: the presence of anti-aircraft defense, new opportunities for the enemy to attack the energy infrastructure, the availability of repair equipment, etc., the expert emphasized.
He added that in winter the lighting situation will be almost the same as in July, but it is necessary to add another 4 hours of outages.
According to Yury Korolchuk, an analyst from the Institute of Energy Strategies, last year on some days there were no lights for 8-12 hours.
He noted that this happened in regions with a large number of industrial enterprises.
