March 16, 2023 marks a year since the national power system has joined and been operating synchronously with the power systems of European countries (ENTSO-E).

“The synchronization took place in difficult conditions of constant shelling. From February 24, 2022, for three weeks, the power systems of Ukraine and Moldova operated in isolation from russia and belarus, independently regulating the frequency. And on March 16, 2022, the energy synchronization with Europe took place directly,” said Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko.

The Minister emphasized that synchronization significantly improved the reliability of Ukraine’s power system by allowing it to receive timely assistance from Europe in case of emergency outages, import European electricity, and reduce the number of disconnected consumers. And if necessary, in case of a surplus of generating capacities, Ukraine can provide emergency assistance to European power systems and export electricity.

German Galushchenko also reminded that the successful integration of the power system with Europe was preceded by extensive preparations: Ukrainian and European experts technically checked the equipment of NPPs, TPPs and HPPs for possible participation in voltage, frequency and power regulation, a joint unit for regulating the power systems of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova was created, and TPP/NPP power units requiring reconstruction were identified.

“All these measures, as well as strong international support, heroism and professionalism of Ukrainian power engineers, allowed Ukraine to withstand the energy war during the 2022/2023 heating season. Indeed, during the period of regular massive missile attacks by russia against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the volume of technological electricity flows from Europe reached a maximum of 2 GW, and imports reached 560 MW. This has strengthened the resilience and flexibility of Ukraine’s power system,” emphasized German Galushchenko.

As a result, an additional UAH 8.7 billion (including VAT) was raised as payment for access to cross-border interconnectors and as part of special obligations imposed on exporters, which allowed to maintain a preferential price for electricity for the population, finance work to increase the capacity of cross-border interconnectors, and reduce debts in the electricity market.