Ukrenergo expects to avoid power cuts in August
MOSCOW. July 28 (Interfax) - There are currently no power outages due to capacity shortages in Ukraine, and they are not expected in August, but the month is going to be difficult because a certain number of power units will be stopped for maintenance, but electricity consumption is expected to increase, Ukrenergo CEO Vladimir Kudritsky said.
"August will be a difficult month. This is because a certain number of power units will be stopped for maintenance. The next week or two are going to be especially challenging," Ukrainian media quoted Kudritsky as saying at a press conference in Kharkov on Thursday.
At the same time, there are currently no restrictions on electricity consumption either for households or businesses, and Ukrenergo does not anticipate them in August, either, he said.
"We do not forecast any power cuts for consumers. We expect to be able to cope with the increased load on the system in conditions of a reduced number of power units," he said.
Electricity import from Europe should help Ukraine's energy system, Kudritsky said.
"The larger it is, the easier it will be for the Ukrainian energy system to cover consumption needs," he said.
The available cross-section capacity for import, which is 1,200 MW, is not being utilized to the full, Kudritsky said.
"We can triple or even quadruple the volume of imports from Europe. We are working to further increase the capacity, but the problem is that this one is not being used," he said.
Certain conditions should be in place in order to enhance electricity imports to the Ukrainian market, i.e. "the electricity price should reflect the presence of certain shortages in the energy system," Kudritsky said.
"Consequently, this price should allow any company - Ukrainian or European - to buy the resource on the European market and to sell it on the Ukrainian market without loss," he said.
As reported earlier, citing JSC Market Operator, the weighted average electricity price on the day ahead market grew 17.5% to 3,528 hryvni/MWh on July 1-20, 2023, as compared to the same period in June of this year. The baseload electricity price index for the day ahead price stands at 3,392 hryvni/MWh over this period, which is 16.7% that on June 1-20.
For comparison, Market Operator referred to the day ahead price of the BASE product in Romania, where it stands at 3,882 hryvni/MWh, in Slovakia - 3,771 hryvni/MWh, and Hungary - 3,868 hryvni/ MWh.
Ukraine's National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities on July 1 set price caps for the day ahead and weighted average prices, raising them by 40-80% depending on delivery hours.
A key objective of this decision is to draw electricity imports, which, as a rule, cost more. Time will tell whether this decision is effective, when "hundreds of MW of electricity will start to flow into" Ukraine, Kudritsky said.
In July, Ukraine imported electricity mostly from Slovakia with the maximum capacity of 350 MW.