The state of the power system is much better now than last summer - expert
Energy professionals took into account last year's experience and adjusted the repair schedules for nuclear power units, repaired previously damaged generating capacities
The situation in the power industry is now more stable than last summer, electricity consumers feel more protected.
This assessment was expressed during a briefing by the director of the Energy Research Center, Oleksandr Kharchenko, Ukrinform reports.
According to him, the situation in the energy sector is manageable. And, in his opinion, several components influenced this.
"Firstly, last year's experience was taken into account, when the results of massive enemy attacks were superimposed on the repairs of nuclear power units, which caused physical problems with access to electricity. This year, the protection of energy facilities is working better, and the schedules of routine work are designed to minimize the possible simultaneous impacts on the power system. Secondly, it is very important that the power industry managed to restore many facilities, that is, a large amount of previously damaged generation is now operating," Kharchenko explained.
The expert called another important factor in the relative (given the constant military risks and weather) stability of the Ukrainian energy system the increase in the number of solar panels installed by businesses and the population.
"An audit of such generation is what awaits us. And it will not be easy to do. After all, even customs information on the amount of imported equipment does not fully reflect the situation. Because it is no secret to anyone that there was a period when a truck could simply drive into a small town, and power equipment from it was sold off almost for cash. At the same time, the general nature of consumption in the power system indicates that in fact, a decent amount of capacity has been added," the head of the Energy Research Center emphasized.
According to Kharchenko, intensive work on minimizing the vulnerability of power generation and high-voltage networks is also ongoing.
"Therefore, the situation is now more stable than last summer, consumers feel more protected. Although, unfortunately, it cannot be said that there are no power outages in the country at all - this happens both due to attacks (especially in frontline areas) and due to the impact of bad weather. Also, the current stability does not mean that due to possible new massive attacks - primarily on coal and gas generation - we will not find ourselves in a crisis situation again," Kharchenko believes.
He also emphasized the absence of emergency electricity imports from Europe, which helped Ukraine a lot in previous periods. Now both electricity imports and exports are carried out only on a commercial basis.
"We do not need emergency assistance, which is very good. This is a certain evidence of a healthy situation in the energy system. Moreover, exports in sunny months are even greater than imports. It all depends on the cost, consumption volumes and supply: electricity is cheaper in Europe - flows to us begin, it is cheaper here - Europeans (and quite intensively at certain hours) purchase the resource in Ukraine," the head of the Energy Research Center noted.
As "Ukrainian Energy" reported, in the first half of 2025, distribution system operators (DSOs, regional energy companies) repaired more than 14.4 thousand km and cleared about 24 thousand km of overhead line routes - Derzhenergonahlyd.
