Ukraine will face significant challenge in winter, IAE says
The coming winter will be the most serious test for Ukraine's energy infrastructure due to ongoing Russian attacks on the country's energy facilities, News.Az reports citing Delfi .
The winter energy supply deficit could reach six gigawatts (GW), equivalent to Denmark's annual peak demand, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) presented in Brussels on Thursday, September 19.In 2022 and 2023, about half of Ukraine's electricity generation capacity was either occupied by Russian troops, destroyed or seriously damaged, according to the IEA report. The agency called on European countries to provide Kyiv with the necessary equipment and spare parts to restore damaged energy facilities and to increase electricity and gas supplies to Ukraine this winter.
The European Union will allocate 160 million euros to Kyiv to prepare for winter
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already promised to allocate an additional 160 million euros to Kyiv to prepare for winter. "We must do everything possible to keep the lights on. And as winter approaches, we must help Ukrainians stay warm and keep the economy running," she said, speaking in Brussels.
Of the 160 million euros allocated to Ukraine, according to von der Leyen, 60 million will go to setting up heating points and other humanitarian needs, and the remaining 100 million will go to restoring thermal power plants damaged by Russian attacks and installing new solar power plants in Ukraine.
Part of these funds, according to the head of the European Commission, will be financed by frozen Russian assets in the EU. At the same time, according to the IEA, the complete restoration and modernization of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure will require at least $30 billion.
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