Ukraine\u2019s electricity supply risks \u201csevere disruptions\u201d this winter, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned, urging Kyiv\u2019s allies to help address the country\u2019s energy security. <\/p>\n
Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine\u2019s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since its full-scale invasion in February 2022, but its bombardments have intensified recently, leaving the country in a precarious position as colder weather approaches. <\/p>\n
\u201cUkraine\u2019s energy system has made it through the past two winters thanks to the resilience, courage and ingenuity of its people and strong solidarity from its international partners,\u201d IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement Thursday. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut this winter will be, by far, its sternest test yet.\u201d <\/p>\n
Last month, Russia launched one of its largest aerial attacks on Ukraine since the start of the war, firing more than 200 missiles and drones mainly at energy infrastructure. The onslaught caused power outages in several Ukrainian cities, affecting millions of households. Ukraine has also attacked Russia\u2019s energy infrastructure. <\/p>\n
Even before that attack by Moscow, more than two-thirds of Ukraine\u2019s pre-war power generation capacity was offline because it had been destroyed, damaged or occupied by Russian forces, the IEA said in a report. <\/p>\n
That has made rolling blackouts, which can also affect water supply, a feature of daily life in Ukraine. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation could become even more dire as the days get shorter and colder,\u201d the agency cautioned. \u201cA yawning gap between available electricity supply and peak demand risks emerging \u2014 bringing the threat of even more severe disruptions to hospitals, schools and other key institutions in the depths of winter.\u201d <\/p>\n
The IEA estimates that Ukraine\u2019s electricity supply shortfall could reach as much as 6 gigawatts this winter, or almost a third of expected peak demand and equivalent to the peak annual demand of Denmark, for example. <\/p>\n
In its report, the agency outlines 10 measures that Ukraine and its allies should implement to tackle risks to the country\u2019s energy supply. These include bolstering the physical and cyber security of critical energy infrastructure, expediting delivery of equipment and spare parts for repairs, investing in energy efficiency and increasing the capacity to import electricity and natural gas from the European Union. <\/p>\n
But, according to the report, effective air defense is \u201cby far the most important\u201d measure to safeguard the minimum level of energy services in Ukraine through the coming months. <\/p>\n
To help Ukraine through the upcoming winter, the EU will disburse \u20ac160 million ($179 million) \u2014 including \u20ac60 million ($67 million) in humanitarian aid for shelters and heaters, and \u20ac100 million ($112 million) for repair works and renewable energy, with the larger amount flowing from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is only right that Russia pays for the destruction it caused,\u201d European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters Thursday. She also noted that the EU had contributed at least \u20ac2 billion ($2.2 billion) toward Ukraine\u2019s energy system since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion began. <\/p>\n
Work currently underway to repair Ukraine\u2019s energy infrastructure and connect its electricity grid to the rest of Europe will cover more than 25% of the country\u2019s energy needs this winter, according to the president of the EU\u2019s executive arm. <\/p>\n
In one example of such efforts, a thermal power plant in Lithuania is being dismantled and shipped to Ukraine where it will be reassembled. The EU has also dispatched solar panels to 21 hospitals in the country, eight of which will be \u201cfully equipped\u201d by the winter, she said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Ukraine\u2019s electricity supply risks \u201csevere disruptions\u201d this winter, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned, urging Kyiv\u2019s allies to help address the country\u2019s energy security. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine\u2019s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since its full-scale invasion in February 2022, but its bombardments have intensified recently, leaving the country in a precarious <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7876","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}