Ukraine will be able to supply electricity to the EU/Pixabay
“You won't do it even before the age of 25,” one European diplomat frankly told me back in January. We discussed the disconnection of the power grid from Russia and Belarus, integration with the European ENTSO-E network and the start of exporting electricity to Europe.
We did it
In March, we joined Europe, by sending a Russian kilowatt to a known address.
We haven't bought it since last June. And now we have received the ENTSO-E solution, which opens up the possibility of exporting electricity to the EU countries. This is the first real, mutually beneficial step of real, non-declarative European integration.
The benefits for Ukraine are obvious
If earlier electricity was exported by one energy island of one oligarch, now state-owned companies can do it. I have no right to voice the potential revenues of the state, so as not to influence the EU market, but we can say that we are talking about billions of euros a year.
If we take advantage of this opportunity, we can make a profit no less than from the activities of the gas transmission system.
The benefits for Europe are no less
EU countries will be able to buy Ukrainian energy, “climate neutral” electricity produced without carbon emissions, and therefore helps to implement the “green transition” strategy.
Moreover, EU countries will be able to replace part of the Russian gas currently used for power generation. We are talking about billions of cubic meters of Russian gas that is no longer needed. This is our common interest – the rejection of Russian energy sources, and we are now partners with Europe.
The war against Ukraine has clearly set the accents, and European politicians now clearly understand that Russian energy is a weapon.
Exports from Ukraine will protect against blackmail and the emergence of new Orbans dependent on cheap contracts. We work according to clear, transparent and market rules.
The first sign
This victory also teaches us that good news takes years to prepare. We were able to overcome the skepticism of some European officials and diplomats with long and professional work.
Synchronization with ENTSO-E took place at an accelerated pace already during the war, Ukrenergo did it a few weeks later , which they had to do for a year and a half.
But not only the professionalism of the power engineers made it possible to obtain this result. It is also the result of 5 years of preparation, which was quietly but continuously carried out step by step.
And the result of daily work to convince the Europeans of the reliability of our state and how dangerous Russia is. And the result of the implementation of corporate governance reform. In Ukrenergo, the supervisory board and the board work independently, in the interests of the state and citizens, without political influence. The Europeans appreciated this.
If this had not happened, even the war would not have convinced European institutions and an individual diplomat who worked and still works in Kyiv. We didn't just do it, colleague. And this is just the beginning.
