The power systems of Ukraine and Moldova have been fully synchronized with the power grid of continental Europe ENTSO-E, in a pivotal moment in the history for the Europen energy market.
The synchronization will open up opportunities for the development of the energy market of the two countries and it could provide a reliable insurance in case Russia tries to destroy the energy infrastructure of these countries.
The ENTSO-E system operators association made the synchronization decision on March 11, 2022. Physically, the merger of energy systems was carried out on March 16.
“This is a historic event, which is a guarantee of Ukrainian and European energy development. This step will allow Ukraine to receive electricity if the aggressor continues to destroy our energy infrastructure, and thereby save the energy system.” said Volodymyr Kudrytsky, Chairman of the Board of NPC Ukrenergo.
According to Kudrytsky, the country has been preparing for this event for six years and has ensured the technical readiness of the Ukrainian energy system for synchronization.
NPC Ukrenergo, as a Ukrainian transmission system operator (TSO), has been taking measures to prepare the domestic energy system for synchronization with ENTSO-E since 2017, when the Agreement on the conditions for a future merger was signed.
During this time, testing of power units of Ukrainian NPPs, TPPs, CHPPs and HPPs was carried out, a mathematical model of the power systems of Ukraine and Moldova was created, on the basis of which the OSP ENTSO-E Consortium conducted a study of the static and dynamic stability of the power systems of Ukraine and Moldova when working with the network of continental Europe.
Within six years, cumulative investments in energy infrastructure development, IT infrastructure, and cyber defense have reached more than 700 million euros, and Ukraine has met all the critical technical conditions for integration into ENTSO-E.
On February 24, NPC Ukrenergo disconnected the Ukrainian energy system from the networks of Russia and Belarus. On the same day, the Russian army attacked Ukraine.
Despite the active hostilities, NPC Ukrenergo successfully tested the operation of the power system in an isolated mode within three days.