DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said on Thursday it plans to transform its war-shattered electricity network in areas surrounding the capital Kyiv by building a smart grid capable of better withstanding military assault and able to accelerate Ukraine’s energy transition.
The Kyiv regional power grid (which excludes the capital itself) was extensively damaged in spring 2022 as russian* forces advanced towards Kyiv city and again after October 2022 when russia deliberately targeted Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure. Moscow’s attacks are now subject to separate investigations from the International Criminal Court and United Nations over possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.
DTEK, smart grid, electricity network, worker
After Ukrainian forces liberated areas near the capital in the first months of the war, DTEK crews from around Ukraine immediately moved in to reconnect customers. Although they restored power in just 45 days, the network remains in need of extensive repairs and major upgrades to raise it to modern European standards.
To do that DTEK Grids, its grid operating business, is seeking EUR 2.4 billion of funding in a 10 year-project to transform the region’s power infrastructure. The plans, which must be approved by Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy, envisage building a smart grid with 20,000 km of new overhead and underground cables, 250 substations, 6,000 transformers and almost a million smart meters.
Key advantages include:
- A resilient smart grid infrastructure that still works even if one segment is damaged or destroyed.
- Stronger connectivity to power produced from renewables.
- Digital Twin technology allowing engineers to model how the upgraded network will function.
- A flexible system enabling consumers to become contributors through ‘home-grown’ energy from household solar. panels or even by de-charging car batteries.
DTEK Grids is planning to test the new grid concept in a three-year pilot phase across Irpin-Bucha-Borodyanka, an area 15 miles from the capital that suffered now-infamous attacks after russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The company is seeking to attract initial funding of EUR 145 million for the pilot.
Announcing the plans at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said:
"DTEK does not seek to only rebuild what was destroyed but to build a new power sector for Ukraine that is cleaner, innovative and more resilient. This investment will give the Kyiv region a world-class Smart Grid infrastructure that enables Ukraine’s energy transition: integrating renewable generation and preparing Ukraine to become a major clean energy hub for the European Union.”
DTEK Grids is Ukraine’s largest electricity distribution business, providing eelectricity to 5.6 million customers over 190,000 km of networks and through seven regional distribution system operators (DSOs) in including Kyiv City and Kyiv Region.
