Ukraine plans record high power imports on Wednesday, energy ministry says

Ukraine plans to import its largest amount of power on Wednesday after Russian missile strikes significantly damaged energy infrastructure, the Ukrainian energy ministry said.

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector have intensified since March, resulting in blackouts in many regions, forcing Kyiv to start large-scale electricity imports from the European Union.

The ministry said in a statement the country would import 29,796 megawatt hours on Wednesday, exceeding the previous record of up to 28,000 MWh earlier this month.

The national power grid operator Ukrenergo said in a separate statement that it would import electricity with a maximum technical capacity of 1,689 Mw per hour.

Ukraine can import no more than 1,700 MW per hour of electricity from EU states simultaneously but is in talks with the EU to increase capability to 2,200 MW per hour.

After six Russian consecutive attacks on Ukraine’s energy system this spring and early summer, imports from the EU have become a major source of energy, helping to meet demand during peaks of consumption.

Russia continues to attack Ukrainian energy facilities almost daily. Ukrenergo said that an energy facility in northeastern Sumy region was damaged during the overnight drone attack.

The Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) analytical team said in a report that damages to the Ukrainian energy sector as of May 2024 amounted to more than $16.1 billion.

It said the worst damages were incurred from the destruction of electricity generation objects – $8.5 billion – transmission facilities – $2.1 billion – and oil and gas infrastructure – $3.3 billion.