Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, chief of Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator, says Ukraine needs not only to restore infrastructure destroyed by Russian missiles but also to develop a new decentralized generation network, according to UkrInform.
He noted that Ukraine provides power through several large thermal, hydro, and nuclear power plants. Since 2022, such facilities have become prime targets for Russian strikes. With just a few missiles, a significant amount of power can be shut down.
“Therefore, the only way to build a sustainable, safer, and more resilient energy system protected from enemy attacks is to construct 200 power plants of 5 MW each instead of one 1000 MW power plant. Decentralization must occur, particularly at the generation level.
It relates to, specifically, its balancing segment—the generation network that has traditionally provided flexibility to Ukraine’s energy system for decades, ensuring its ability to produce as much electricity as needed by the consumer at any given moment,” Kudrytskyi explained.
According to him, a decentralized generation system is the only possible long-term response to Russian attacks. The enemy would need tens of thousands of missiles to destroy hundreds or thousands of small power plants.
Overall, Kudrytskyi concluded that Ukraine’s energy transmission system is relatively decentralized. A similar approach should be taken with the generation system.
“In addition to decentralizing and constructing new energy facilities, we will need to decentralize the system of generation owners if it can be put this way. That is, we need to build a large number of power plants and ensure a significant representation of players in the energy market,” added the head of Ukrenergo.
He believes it will create a highly competitive and transparent electricity market in Ukraine.
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