Europe’s TSO Network welcomes Ukraine’s Ukrenergo as full member

Ukrainian Transmission System Operator Ukrenergo has joined the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) as a full member.

As of 1 January 2024, Ukrenergo, will be the 40th member of the association. Ukrenergo has already been an observer member of the association since April 2022, months after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Since then, with the support of Continental European TSOs, Ukrenergo has been able to increase the stability of the grid and maintain the security of its power system, minimising incidents of having to reduce or turn off the supply of electricity and ensuring faster recovery times for system restoration following attacks and damage to Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

ENTSO-E and Ukrenergo have been working together since 2017 on a route to full membership and integration with the European energy system.

A notable milestone was reached on 16 March 2022 with the emergency synchronisation of Ukraine and Moldova with the Continental Europe power system.

In November 2023, ENTSO-E announced the successful completion of the synchronisation project with Ukraine after the compliance by Ukrenergo with the key technical requirements necessary to enable a permanent interconnection between the power systems of Continental Europe and Ukraine.

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Commenting in a release was Mr Zbyněk Boldiš, president of ENTSO-E, who said: “This achievement marks the end of one journey and the beginning of another.

“The first journey was marked by the emergency synchronisation on 16 March 2022, the signature of the Observer Membership Agreement in April 2022 and the completion of the synchronisation project on 28 November 2023.

“We are now embarking on a new journey where Ukrenergo assumes its full place among European TSOs. Together, we will be stronger in promoting and advancing a resilient, sustainable, and integrated European electricity grid.”

Added Mr Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, CEO of NPC Ukrenergo: “The interconnection of the Ukrainian power system with the Continental European network and now the achievement of Ukrenergo’s membership status in ENTSO-E is another important milestone for Ukraine on the path towards European integration.

“This is a crucial and historic step, which will significantly contribute to the enhancement of energy security, the resilience of our power system, as well as the stability of electricity supply. We are grateful to our European partners for their trust and for the opportunity to establish full-scale and comprehensive cooperation within ENTSO-E.”

ENTSO-E said in a release that Ukrenergo’s membership marks the association’s commitment to strengthen cooperation among TSOs at the pan-European level, to foster the security, resilience and reliability of the interconnected power system.