Coming Winter 'sternest Test Yet' For Ukraine Energy Grid

Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Sep, 2024) The coming winter will prove the "sternest test yet" for Ukraine's energy grid, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, as the EU announced additional aid to help the country weather Russia's attacks on its power infrastructure.

Echoing the stark warning over Ukraine's coming needs, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announced she would travel to Kyiv for Friday talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, as the IEA put forward a 10-point plan to safeguard the war-battered country's energy security.

"We must do all we can to keep the lights on. And as winter is approaching, we must keep the brave people of Ukraine warm, while we also keep the economy running," the European Commission president told a Brussels press conference held jointly with IEA chief Fatih Birol.

The IEA report said that in 2022 and 2023 "about half of Ukraine's power generation capacity was either occupied by Russian forces, destroyed or damaged, and approximately half of the large network substations were damaged by missiles and drones."

"Ukraine's energy system has made it through the past two winters.

.. But this winter will be, by far, its sternest test yet," the agency's executive director Birol said in a news release accompanying the report.

With Ukraine having lost more than two-thirds of its electricity production capacity since the Russian invasion, the report warned of a "yawning gap between available electricity supply and peak demand".

It urged European countries to expedite deliveries of equipment and parts to rebuild the damaged facilities and called for measures to protect them from drones.

Von der Leyen said the EU would make an additional 160 million Euros ($178 million) available to help Ukraine through the winter.

These will include 60 million euros in humanitarian aid and 100 million euros for repairs and renewable energy, she said, adding the latter amount would come from the proceeds of immobilised Russian assets in the European Union.

"I will be travelling to Kyiv to discuss these matters in person with President Zelensky tomorrow," von der Leyen said.