Ukraine provided emergency assistance to Poland's power system on Christmas Day: Reason revealed

Ukraine provided assistance to Poland for Christmas (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)

On the night of December 25, at the request of the Polish operator PSE, emergency assistance for the Polish power system was activated with a total volume of 3050 MW*hours. This is not commercial import but rather one type of emergency assistance, according to the press service of Ukrenergo.

“The Polish power system had an excess of electricity overnight on a festive day and requested assistance from neighboring countries in its consumption. Ukraine thus received an additional volume of electricity,” the statement said.

Situation in Ukraine

According to Ukrenergo data, the daily consumption peak on December 24 was during the day, and its indicator was 1% lower than the previous Sunday, December 17.

“Despite the reduction in the daily consumption peak due to warm weather and weekends, the overall level of consumption remains high. Please use electricity sparingly,” the press service noted.

Currently, the electricity generated by power plants of all types is sufficient to provide energy supply to all legal and residential consumers. There is no export today, the company reported.

Electricity imports are carried out throughout the day from Slovakia, Poland, Romania, and Moldova. The total volume is 17,736 MW*hours, with a maximum capacity of up to 1,009 MW in certain hours. Since December 1, the technical capability of electricity import from Europe to Ukraine and Moldova is 1700 MW.

Power outages

According to Ukrenergo, 72 settlements in the Donetsk, Zakarpattia, Kyiv, and Kharkiv regions are de-energized due to bad weather. Due to technical damage, consumers are de-energized in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Due to hostilities and other reasons, 406 settlements remain without electricity. Due to shelling, there is new damage to Oblenergo networks in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions. In the Donetsk region, restoration work on the power supply in Toretsk continues after the shelling.

Emergency restoration work is carried out in other areas depending on the security situation and with the military’s permission.

Winter forecast

According to the updated National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) forecast, a power deficit in electricity production in Ukraine at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 is possible at 5%. However, considering the adjustment of imported electricity supplies, its impact on economic activity will be insignificant.

According to a survey by the Sociological Group “Rating,” almost three-quarters (74%) of Ukrainians are preparing for possible problems with energy supply in winter. At the same time, they expect the situation to be better than last year.