Three-day trial operation: Ukraine wants to isolate the power grid from Russia

three day trial operation
Ukraine wants to isolate the electricity grid from Russia

2/17/2022 4:37 am

Does Ukraine need electricity from Russia and Belarus? Over the next few days, the country wants to isolate itself from its neighbors’ electricity grids as a test and check whether “island operations” work. Talking about the power grid, the country also wants to break away from the Soviet past.

In the coming week, Ukraine intends to test the operation of its own power grids separated from Russia, Belarus and the European Union for the first time. The trial is scheduled for February 24-26, state power grid operator Ukrainho said. Ukraine wants to supply itself with electricity without neighbors, the neighboring Republic of Moldova. The process should not be construed as a stress test, the company stressed.

After another decoupling test in the summer, the former Soviet republic intends to join the Association of European Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-e) permanently from next year. It should also mark a break with the Soviet past in the power grid. Since 2003, part of the power grid in western Ukraine is synchronized with its western neighbours. More recently, however, Kiev had to resort to importing electricity from Belarus due to a shortage of coal and natural gas.

Parts of the Ukrainian territories east of Donetsk and Luhansk on the Russian border that have been under separatist control since 2014 broke away from Kiev in 2017. A peace plan agreed in 2015 with Franco-German mediation actually envisages an economic reunification of the region.

EU approves billions of loans

Meanwhile, the EU parliament on Wednesday evening cleared the way for 1.2 billion euros in financial aid for Ukraine. In Strasbourg, MEPs approved a proposal by the EU Commission to make this money available to Ukraine as a loan. The EU Commission proposed the loan, which has a period of twelve months and is to be paid in two phases to the EU Parliament and member states at the end of January. 27 member states approved the proposal on Friday.

The purpose of the EU is to “provide swift support and strengthen Ukraine’s resilience in the event of a serious crisis”, according to the decision of the EU Parliament. The first installment is to be disbursed in the short term if Ukraine meets certain conditions. Among other things, it should demonstrate progress in implementing the reform program drawn up by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).