Ministry of Energy: Ukraine and Austria discuss attracting investments in the energy sector

Deputy Minister of Energy Oleksandr Pavlichenko held a meeting with the Austrian Government Coordinator on the sidelines of the III International Summit of Cities and Regions. During the meeting, the Deputy Minister discussed areas of cooperation in the energy sector with Austrian counterparts. He emphasised that enhancing the resilience of Ukraine’s energy system required attracting international investments, particularly in nuclear energy, smart grids, distributed generation, and renewable energy sources.

Oleksandr Pavlichenko briefed his Austrian colleagues on the current state of Ukraine’s energy system, which has been under constant attack from russia for over three years, and informed partners about the urgent needs for restoring the energy sector.

“Despite the announcement on 25 March regarding the cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure, over 1,200 incidents across various energy sectors have been recorded since then. In response to these challenges, we are working to strengthen active and passive protection of energy infrastructure, accelerate repair works, and develop distributed generation and renewable energy sources. Another priority is gas production and diversification of energy source imports,” said Oleksandr Pavlichenko.

The Deputy Minister also noted that the Ukraine Energy Support Fund remained the most effective tool for financial assistance in restoring the energy sector and thanked Austria for its EUR 15 million contribution to the Fund.

Oleksandr Pavlichenko stressed that Ukraine greatly valued the humanitarian aid provided by the Austrian Government and private companies, including 15 shipments of critical energy equipment weighing a total of 281 tonnes.

The Austrian side assured that their country will continue to support Ukraine’s energy sector and participate in its post-war recovery.