"Energy infrastructure has suffered $11 billion in damages over the last year and is one of the most critical areas where Ukraine needs urgent support. We are grateful for strong partnership with Ukraine and development partners to support this critical sector and act fast," said Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank.Antonella Bassani, Vice President for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank, emphasized the importance of restoring the energy grid to Ukraine's recovery efforts, saying, "This is critical both for recovery efforts and for resuming disrupted economic production and flows." The energy grids in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts along the war's frontline have been most affected by the damages. While most power plants have reconnected to the grid due to Ukraine's ongoing efforts to repair the power systems, significant damages to transmission substations continue to constrain their output, leading to scheduled load shedding and outages in most regions. The World Bank has mobilized over $23 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine to date, with over $20 billion disbursed through several projects, including the Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) Project. The URTF is a flexible platform that allows the World Bank to prioritize and channel funding to the most urgent development needs identified by the Ukrainian government, with current contributions from Austria, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.
How Ukraine’s power grid survived a winter of Russian energy terror
