A Crucial Winter for the Energy Sector: Shmyhal Announces a New System to Protect Ukraine
Next winter could be decisive for Ukraine’s energy sector, as Russia will attempt to cut the country off from nuclear power generation.
This was stated by Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal during the Forbes Ukraine conference.
According to him, Russia is employing a strategy of attrition and attempting to target the most vulnerable elements of the power grid.
“Next winter will be a decisive battle. The Russians will try to cut us off from nuclear power generation,” Shmyhal emphasized.
The minister announced that Ukraine is transitioning to a new power grid model based on the “energy honeycomb” principle.
It involves creating a multi-tiered system with partially autonomous components so that a strike on a single facility does not paralyze the entire grid.
The plan includes four levels:
▪️ national — transmission grids and large-scale nuclear, hydro, and thermal power plants
▪️ regional — local reserves and resilience plans for each region
▪️ local — autonomous power supply for hospitals, schools, water utilities, and district heating companies
▪️ household level — homeowners’ associations, businesses, and cooperatives will be able to generate and store electricity
Separately, Shmyhal highlighted the issue of imbalance between the Right Bank and Left Bank of Ukraine.
According to him, most power generation is currently concentrated on the right bank of the Dnipro River, so the government is prioritizing the development of new capacity specifically on the Left Bank.
“The Left Bank is a priority for us, and we must make it self-sufficient,” the minister stated.
The Cabinet of Ministers has already approved resolutions to hold tenders for new power generation facilities with a total capacity of 1.4 GW. They are scheduled to be announced within three months.
Shmyhal also noted that the digitization of energy management—from local meters to nuclear power generation—will play a key role in coordinating the new system.
Power outages have been reported in the Sumy region due to Russian military aggression. On the morning of Tuesday, May 26, part of the region was left without electricity. Energy workers are working to restore power, and the causes and extent of the damage are being determined.
As a reminder, Energoatomhas suspended some employees from work pending an anti-corruption investigation.
Energoatom insured its supervisory board for 19 million in case of arrests.
