The World Bank has announced a $200 million grant to fund repairs to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which has suffered $11 billion in damages over the last year due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The funds will be used for emergency repairs to electricity transmission and heating infrastructure, including the procurement of critical equipment such as autotransformers, switchgears, mobile heat-only boilers, and other equipment to repair district heating networks.
The Restoration Project of Winterization and Energy Resources is a top priority identified by the Ukrainian government for 2023 and will be financed through the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund. The World Bank established the trust fund to coordinate grant financing for sustaining Ukraine’s government functions, delivering services, and implementing relief efforts. The project is critical for Ukraine’s recovery efforts, resuming disrupted economic production and flows, and providing relief for the millions of Ukrainians affected by power outages, shortages of food, heating, and water.
“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.
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