No longer dependent on Russia
EU docks Ukraine and Moldova to power grid
03/16/2022, 7:24 p.m
Russian troops repeatedly attack the energy supply in Ukraine. They have occupied the largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia. The EU jumps to Kyiv and connects Ukraine to the Western European power grid – together with the Republic of Moldova.
Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova have been connected to the Western European power grid. “In this area, Ukraine is now a part of Europe,” said EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. The European Union will ensure gas flows to Ukraine and energy supply, Simson added. Until recently, Ukraine and Moldova were connected to the Russian power grid.
A few days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the energy ministers of the 27 EU countries agreed to connect Ukraine and Moldova to the Western European power grid. Simson had emphasized that this was “technically demanding”. While the connection carries the risk of blackouts in parts of the EU, Brussels has now presented the move as part of the EU’s solidarity with Ukraine.
Zelenskyy: “Member of the EU Energy Union”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the synchronization of his country’s power grid with Western European supplies. Ukraine has become “a member of the EU Energy Union,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter. He thanked Simson and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The EU representative wrote on Twitter that she welcomed the move to “keep lights on and houses warm in these dark times”.
The rapid approach to the union of the two countries has to do with the Ukraine war. But the Association of European Transmission System Operators (Entso-E) has been working on a synchronization project with Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Ukrenergo since 2017. According to EU Commissioner Simson, this should have happened “under normal circumstances” in the coming year.
The scope of the Western European interconnected grid Entso-E goes beyond the 27 EU countries and also includes Iceland and Cyprus.