Hungary Helps Ukraine with Significant Electricity Imports
In recent days, Hungary’s net electricity exports to Ukraine have reached a historic high due to Russian attacks. According to an article from portfolio.hu, Ukraine is forced to cover a significant portion of its energy production through imports because the demand for electricity has increased due to the summer heat. As a result, in June, countries neighboring Ukraine exported electricity to their eastern neighbour, with Hungary’s exports standing out. However, even the increased EU electricity imports are insufficient to avoid the daily multi-hour blackouts experienced by people across the country.
Hungary’s significant assistance is possible because it is part of the interconnected European electricity market, which also benefits a small portion of Hungarian solar power plant owners who sell electricity on the wholesale market.
At the end of June, the Ukrainian electricity system operator Ukrenergo indicated that more than 9 gigawatts of energy production capacity had been lost due to Russian attacks, a considerable amount that approaches the total installed electricity production capacity of Hungary.
According to portfolio.hu, the problems arising from the loss of power generation capacity are exacerbated by the electricity demand during the summer heat, with temperatures of 35-38 degrees Celsius raging in many parts of the country. More precisely, demand increases, as significant parts of the country, including Kyiv, continue to experience regular planned power outages lasting many hours, up to 10-12 hours a day. The reason is that even with increased electricity imports, the system operator cannot meet the demands.
In recent days, Ukrenergo has imported around 35,000 MWh of electricity daily from neighboring countries, with the peak at the end of June slightly exceeding 35,600 MWh (averaging nearly 1,500 MWh per hour). According to data from the Kyiv-based Dixi Group research institute focused on energy research, Ukraine’s electricity imports more than doubled from May to June, exceeding 850,000 MWh, which is 6% more than the total imports for 2023, as noted by Reuters. According to Dixi Group data, in June, Ukraine imported the most electricity from Hungary, making up 42% of the total imports.
In June, Slovakia and Romania’s import shares were 17% each, Poland’s reached 16%, and Moldova imported 8%.
Due to the severe situation in the Ukrainian electricity market, the drastic decline in production capacity, and the surge in demand during the summer heat, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Energy recently stated to the news agency that Ukraine is negotiating with neighboring countries to further increase Ukrainian electricity imports beyond the currently agreed level (1.7 GW), as this capacity is already nearly at the end.
Source: portfolio.hu
Photo: ukrinform.net