Russian War Against Ukraine: Energy Dimension (daily updating DiXi Group alert) 

March 21

Summary

— On March 21, the power system continued to operate without restrictions, with a capacity reserve – so the Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko. Due to restoration works, short-term power outages are possible in some areas of the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions.

— On March 20, employees of the Security Service and the Economic Security Bureau continued searches in the offices of gas DSOs operating under the RGC brand. 

— Citing representatives of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Energy, the media reported on the possible introduction of a barrier duty on diesel of unknown origin. In this way, it is planned to eliminate one of the ways for the hidden imports of Russian-originated commodity. Yet the initiative is questionable.

— The President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed the law on the corporatization of Energoatom. According to the government’s plan for 2023, Energoatom should be corporatized by the end of May, and a supervisory board should be appointed by November.

— Energoatom and the UK-based Rolls-Royce SMR signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The document will enable the companies to work together on future opportunities for the deployment of small modular reactors in Ukraine. 

— The Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on the establishment of a state environmental monitoring system and improving the regulation of environmental information. Inter alia, the system will include monitoring of the geological environment.

— The Ukraine Energy Support Fund, created at the Energy Community Secretariat, will support GTSOU in completing the reconstruction of a gas infrastructure facility. The project is financed by a 2 million EUR targeted grant from Germany.