Massive missile strikes and uncrewed aerial vehicles attacks have significantly damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing electricity outages and interruptions in heat and hot water supplies across the country. Ukrainian energy utilities have an increasing need to repair and restore their capacities damaged by russia’s full-scale invasion.
To help Ukraine respond to this growing need and counteract the impact of the russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, the Energy Community Secretariat, in cooperation with the European Commission, established the Ukraine Energy Support Fund (UESF). The Fund provides targeted help to Ukraine’s energy sector by purchasing items needed to repair the damaged infrastructure and therefore enables keeping the Ukrainian energy system up and running. The Energy Community Secretariat is a fiduciary of the Ukraine Energy Support Fund. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine is responsible for identifying, prioritizing, and confirming support requests from Ukrainian energy companies.
The assistance which is already on its way to Ukraine includes:
- 12 current transformers, 4 three-pole and 3 one-pole disconnectors for repairing electricity distribution networks damaged as the result of hostilities;
- 42 Motorola radios to enable emergency repair crews to stay connected during repairs;
- 2 autonomous welding units to repair steel gas pipelines;
- 25 cooper-contact sets of parts for disconnectors, 56 reinforced concrete racks and columns, and 400 caps to restore damaged elements of electricity substations;
- 1,000 support clamps, 2,500 branching clamps, 1,000 tension clamps, 4,000 scrapers, 2,000 tape hooks, 4,000 bandage tapes, and 900 clamp-connected presses, 11 km of insulated wires to restore damaged energy facilities;
- about 20 tons of different wires, centrifugal pumps, and electric and gas switches to replacing the damaged ones;
- 11 gas stand-by generators to back up power supply during emergencies;
- 7 stop systems to carry out repair works without interrupting gas supplies.
There is more assistance in the UESF’s procurement pipeline to restore damaged Ukraine’s power grids and gas transportation facilities.
Through the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, this aid, currently worth EUR 450,000, will help Ukraine repair damaged energy networks and resume energy service provision to critical infrastructure, public services, transportation, households, and businesses.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy verifies the most urgent needs to be supported by the UESF. The Ministry has approved support requests from over 30 energy companies to procure essential energy equipment at an estimated value of over EUR 107 million. The assistance will be delivered to various recipients in Ukraine thanks to coordinated actions of the European Commission, the Energy Community Secretariat, Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy, and the USAID Energy Security Project.