EU Electricity Imports Help Ease Blackouts, but Price Caps Stand in the Way

Summer Power Cuts in Ukraine

According to Главком: Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the former head of NPC Ukrenergo, stated that summer electricity blackouts could be reduced by importing power from the European Union. However, this effort is hindered by government-imposed maximum electricity prices for businesses, known as price caps. Kudrytskyi highlighted that the outages are driven by:

• heatwaves;
• higher demand due to air conditioning use;
• low water reserves for hydroelectric plants (HPPs);
• maintenance work at nuclear power plants (NPPs);
• destruction of thermal generation capacity from Russian attacks.

Import Potential from Europe

The expert noted that power supply restrictions could have been avoided if planned distributed generation operated at full capacity and all available import options from Europe were utilized. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi emphasized that while the physical infrastructure for EU imports exists, short-term electricity prices in Europe have risen sharply, compounding the challenge. This situation is not new-it has occurred repeatedly in recent years, including in April, winter 2024, summer 2024, and winter 2022, pointing to deep-seated issues in the energy sector that require urgent action.

“If we could fully leverage EU imports during the evening peak consumption hours. The physical capacity is there, but our energy regulator, NEURC, imposes price limits on electricity for businesses,” - Volodymyr Kudrytskyi.

“Yes, again. This already happened in April. And last winter. And in summer 2024. And in winter 2022,” - Volodymyr Kudrytskyi.

Ukraine's energy sector remains in a critical state, especially during the summer when electricity usage spikes. With persistent blackouts, the role of European imports grows increasingly vital, yet regulator-set price caps complicate this solution. Addressing these energy challenges demands a comprehensive approach, including regulatory policy adjustments and infrastructure upgrades.