Dressed in a blue-orange-grey outfit and helmet, Roman stands in front of a substation somewhere in Ukraine. With a serious face and a determined voice, he says: “Despite the shelling and all the attacks, we held on.” As he speaks, he turns his head and points to the energy facilities behind him. ”This is our contribution to preserving Ukraine’s independence, energy independence in particular. We won´t allow that we will lose our independence.”
Roman heads a unit of the state-owned energy company Ukrenergo – an important power grid operator in the country. There is a reason for his strong words: The Russian military is carrying out targeted attacks on Ukraine's power grid, mostly with missiles, but often also with drones. As recently as February, there were again various attacks of this kind; they also affected the capital. Its mayor, Vitali Klitschko, reported for instance on February 7 that part of Kyiv was suffering from power outages because two high-voltage lines had been hit. Similar incidents are reported repeatedly and with increasing intensity since March and April from many other parts of the country.
It was particularly drastic in the previous winter, after the end of which Ukrenergo took stock: it counted 15 massive missile waves and 18 waves of drone attacks on the power grid between October and February, in which 1.500 missiles and drones were used. More than 200 of them hit Ukrenergo’s infrastructure directly. As a result, almost half of the transmission grid and up to 60 % of the power plants were damaged or even destroyed; the generation capacity fell significantly. This repeatedly led to power outages, instability and restrictions in the already strenuous everyday life of Ukrainians. According to Ukrenergo, every hour about 12 million people were without lights during that time. That included even cities like Kyiv, which are located far away from the front.
That is why permanent work on the power grid is one of the most important goals of the Ukrainian government, as electricity is an indispensable prerequisite for almost everything. Whether companies, schools or hospitals, whether apartments or heating systems – electricity is always involved.
Ukrenergo has more than seventy mobile repair teams or a total of 1.500 specialists in operation: They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At great risk to their lives, they try to repair damages as quickly as possible after attacks. But if an entire substation or power plant has been hit, then reconstruction is more complicated and costly.
Against this backdrop, KfW Development Bank is supporting Ukraine on behalf of the German Federal Government and the EU in repairing and renewing the electricity infrastructure, amounting to a total of EUR 350 million to date. The aim is to protect the grid while at the same time repairing and modernizing it, making it more energy-efficient and bringing it in line with EU standards –making a virtue out of necessity. In fact, with international support from KfW and others, 95 % of the ultra-high voltage transmission grid had been restored before the winter period 2023-2024.
During the repair measures, modern technology is being used; it helps to further integrate the Ukrainian grid into the European interconnected grid. The innovations also allow for more renewable energies which creates increased energy security. Only a flexible and modern grid and exchange options with the European electricity network can compensate for fluctuations that typically occur in the production of solar and wind power. In addition, facilities are being built to protect Ukraine's electricity infrastructure against further attacks.
The network is a permanent "construction site" for Ukraine. Alexander, chief engineer of a substation, says: "It's an endlessly stressful situation. I love my job, but I'm always afraid that an attack might come and I'll be the target. But I just say to myself that we have to stand up to it. After that, the good life will come again."
The head of Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, puts it a little differently when he says that he and his people are fighting on the energy front: "I think all our employees know that we have an important mission and thereby contribute to Ukraine's victory."
For security reasons, Ukrenergo engineers appear only by their first names.
