Russian War Against Ukraine: Energy Dimension (daily updating DiXi Group alert)
March 22
Summary
— On the night of March 22, the Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine with kamikaze drones, the Ukrainian defence forces destroyed 16 of 21 UAVs. One of infrastructure facilities in the Zhytomyr region was damaged.
— According to experts of KSE Institute, as of February 2023, the damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure as a result of Russia’s invasion increased by another 6 billion USD – to 143.8 billion USD (at replacement cost). In particular, damage to the energy sector amounts to 8.1 billion USD. Ukrhydroenergo estimated its losses at about 40 billion UAH.
— According to Ukrenergo, due to warming, electricity consumption decreased. Due to significant damage to the grids, consumption restrictions apply in the Zhytomyr region. The situation remains difficult in the areas along the front line.
— The Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko announced that GTSOU implements a pilot project on flexible electricity generation based on its assets (gas turbine installation). He outlined such projects as one of the ways to decentralize the power system and develop distributed generation.
— On March 21, the Moldovan company Energocom sold 1 MWh of electricity to Ukraine in a test mode.
— The government has amended the Procedure for holding auctions for the sale of special permits for subsoil use. The amount of guarantee fee has been increased, which will be transferred to the state budget in case the first and second winners of the auction refuse.
— The Cabinet of Ministers also approved the draft Law “On Projects of National Interest in the Energy Sector” developed by the Ministry of Energy. The draft defines the concepts (projects of national interest, Projects of Energy Community Interest, Projects of Mutual Interest, as well as the procedure and criteria for selecting such projects, the procedure for the cross-border distribution of investment costs.
— The IMF mission reached a Staff-Level Agreement on a new Extended Fund Facility program for Ukraine. The two-phase program with requested access of SDR 11.6 billion (about USD 15.6 billion) is designed for four years.
— The Energy Efficiency Fund has received 70 applications from homeowners’ associations for the VidnovyDIM program, with over 149 million UAH total cost. 32 have already received the first tranche of support, repairs are underway in the Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Sumy regions.
