FILE PHOTO: Employees work at a thermal power plant heavily damaged by recent Russian missile strikes in Ukraine
Reuters: WARSAW (Reuters) - European power grid network ENTSO-E said on Tuesday it plans to increase export capacity to Ukraine and Moldova to 2.1 gigawatts (GW) from Dec. 1.
With most of its power capacity destroyed or occupied due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure since 2022, Ukraine's power supply shortfall could reach 6 GW this winter, the International Energy Agency said last month.
European grid operators have been looking to boost export capacity to Ukraine from the current limit of 1.7 GW, while at the same time minimising the risk of shockwaves from the shattered Ukrainian grid spreading into Europe.
"The results of the calculations have enabled transmission system operators to secure an increase of the export capacity limit to Ukraine and Moldova to 2,100 (megawatts) during this winter," ENSTO-E said.
From March 2025, grid operators will be able to reassess the commercial capacity limit between the European Union and Ukraine and Moldova on a monthly basis, the group said.
The increased capacity will be fully available to Ukraine and Moldova, with no specific allocation as such for each country, ENSTO-E said.
Christelle Verstraeten, the group's spokesperson, said the export increase is the total capacity available for cross border trade in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
"It will be split per each border according to the splitting rules agreed between the transmission system operators," she told Reuters in an email.
Russia has knocked out about 9 GW of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last month.
"We aim to restore 2.5 GW of capacity, which is 15% of Ukraine's needs," Von der Leyen said, referring to propoed EU-assisted repairs.
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