War and Energy: Weekly Review of Developments in Ukraine
Electricity imports rose sharply, the Zaporizhzhia NPP again suffered power losses, and the government and partners outlined the sector's financing needs ahead of winter.
Key developments of the week
- Commercial electricity imports to Ukraine rose by 191.3%, to 65.7 thousand MWh, while exports fell by 43.2%, to 47.8 thousand MWh. Imports exceeded exports by 37.4%.
- The Zaporizhzhia NPP continued to face disruptions to its external power supply: on 4 August the plant ran on diesel generators for about an hour, and on 8 August it lost off-site power twice. The 4 August blackout was the 12th since the start of 2026 and the 24th since the occupation of the plant began.
- The National Security and Defence Council reviewed regional preparations for the heating season and the implementation of comprehensive resilience plans, including protection of critical infrastructure and backup energy supply. A separate decision approved the Kyiv Resilience Plan, which provides for developing distributed cogeneration and backup power and strengthening the protection of the capital's energy and heating infrastructure.
- The EU channelled an additional EUR 30 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, bringing its total contribution to EUR 279 million. The money will go towards restoring damaged infrastructure and purchasing critically needed equipment.
- At a meeting with Ukraine's diplomatic corps, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal outlined key international financing needs ahead of winter. The Energy Support Fund's uncovered needs exceed EUR 507 million, EUR 600 million is required to put the balancing market on a sound financial footing, and Naftogaz's additional need for gas import financing is estimated at EUR 400 million.
- NEURC prepared draft amendments to the Market Rules. They would introduce separate marginal balancing energy prices for upward and downward regulation and remove the influence of the "system state" on pricing and imbalance settlement. They also propose changing the dispatch adjustment procedure and, as part of preparing for market coupling, abolishing the lower limit of mandatory electricity sales by producers on the day-ahead market.