Kyiv says gas reserves sufficient, adds power capacity ahead of winter

Ukraine currently has sufficient gas supplies and has brought additional small-scale power plants online to help offset potential electricity shortages, said Deputy Director of the Association of Energy and Natural Resources of Ukraine Andriy Zakrevsky.

Zakrevsky noted that the country currently has around 17 gigawatts of generation capacity, with solar power accounting for about 6 GW and the remainder coming from imports, nuclear generation and other sources.

“To give you an understanding, we currently have 17 gigawatts of generation capacity, of which 6 is solar, while 11.5 comes from imports, nuclear power generation and everything else,” Zakrevsky noted.

His comments come as Ukraine prepares for another winter amid continued attacks on its energy infrastructure and concerns over the resilience of electricity and heating supplies.

Earlier, Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine had established sufficient protection for energy facilities even against ballistic missile strikes, but warned that the coming winter would nevertheless “be difficult.”

Meanwhile, Oleh Popenko, head of the Union of Utility Service Consumers, warned that continued fighting could result in disruptions to electricity and heating lasting “days or even weeks.”

By Vafa Guliyeva