Ukraine’s energy sector is once again being tested for resilience. The large-scale destruction caused by the aggressor’s attacks has placed a central question before both the state and business: how quickly can we restore critical infrastructure?
And what exactly determines this speed — the availability of equipment, qualified specialists, a proper regulatory framework, or simply the ability to obtain a transformer despite blocked ports?
How Prepared Are Energy Companies?
Ukrainian energy companies are demonstrating a high level of resilience and operational efficiency. For example, in January and February 2025 alone, DTEK spent more than UAH 720 million on restoring thermal power plants after massive attacks. For comparison, this is a quarter of the company’s total repair investment for the previous year. At the same time, as the company emphasizes, restoration work continues without interruption, since up to 90% of its thermal generation capacity was destroyed or damaged in 2024.
For its part, the state-owned transmission system operator NPC Ukrenergo has been systematically preparing for winter. Repairs began as early as spring, anti-drone protection has been installed at most substations, and the company has built up an equipment repair reserve equal to 300% of the required standard. Ukrenergo is also deploying capacity reserves and supporting initiatives to connect businesses’ backup generation to the market.
These examples show that companies are ready to carry out recovery work. But they cannot operate in a vacuum. Every step is connected with a range of issues: infrastructure development, logistics, legal restrictions and the search for donor support.
Logistics and Imports: The Equipment Exists, but It Is Not Nearby
The war has disrupted traditional logistics chains. Transformers are no longer produced in Ukraine in the quantities required. This is hardly surprising: no one planned production capacity with the realities of wartime destruction in mind.
In addition, the well-established and relatively inexpensive logistics route through Black Sea ports has become problematic. Seaports remain partially or fully blocked, and there is a real risk of losing expensive energy equipment during delivery.
As a result, high-voltage equipment is now being delivered from Europe by rail and heavy-duty road platforms — slowly, carefully and with lengthy route preparation.
One example is the transportation of a transformer provided by the German transmission system operator 50Hertz. The transformer, weighing more than 210 tonnes excluding additional equipment, covered a 1,700-kilometre route over almost three months. Its transportation required clearance frames, special heavy-load platforms, night-time police escort and hydraulic equipment for transshipment.
The current situation means that Ukraine’s dependence on imports is growing. In the first half of 2025, Ukraine imported transformers, coils and reactors worth USD 494.2 million — 2.6 times more than in the previous year.
What is concerning, however, is not the growth of imports itself. China already accounts for 82.5% of these imports. This raises not only logistics concerns, but also strategic risks: heavy dependence on a single market during wartime is a vulnerability that must be minimized.
Regulatory Barriers: When the Legal Framework Slows Development
The problem is not only the availability of equipment, but also the rules governing its use. One of the most acute challenges is legal uncertainty over land for new generation facilities.
Since January 1, 2025, a new approach to changing the designated use of land has been in force. It now requires the development of detailed territorial plans aligned with district and regional planning schemes.
However, most communities do not have such documents, and preparing them requires both time and resources.
As a result, dozens of new green energy projects are at risk. Industry associations have proposed a solution: allow detailed territorial plans to be developed with consideration of existing schemes, rather than strictly on the basis of them. This would help remove artificial restrictions and unlock 4–6 GW of new capacity over the next three years.
Institutional Responsibility and State Coordination
The speed of recovery also depends on how effectively state institutions work together. In October, the Government established a Coordination Headquarters for Energy Protection — a single management centre that will coordinate the Ministry of Energy, Ukrenergo, Naftogaz, regional administrations, the State Emergency Service, telecom operators and other institutions.
According to the Cabinet of Ministers, the protection of the energy sector is a priority for the President and the entire Government. Therefore, procedures related to construction and recovery will be simplified — from approvals to contract signing. This is essential for ensuring rapid response under constant attacks and limited budgets.
The Key Role of the Private Sector
Industrial companies with backup generation are already entering the market. Ukrenergo openly supports such initiatives. Businesses receive not only financial compensation, but also the opportunity to contribute to stabilizing the power system.
At the same time, the private sector expects predictability: clear rules for the balancing market, guarantees of payment for ancillary services and mechanisms for settling accumulated debts.
How to Maintain the Pace: Conclusions and Key Priorities
Energy recovery is not only a matter of equipment or money. It is a systemic process that depends on:
- the technical readiness of energy companies;
- efficient logistics and reduced import dependence;
- flexible and predictable regulation;
- effective state coordination;
- the involvement of business as a full-fledged partner.
Ukraine’s energy sector has already proven its ability to recover even after the most severe attacks. But in order to accelerate this process and make it sustainable, the country needs transparent rules, logistics support, simplified procedures and coordinated cooperation between the state, business and international partners.
Author: Vadym Lytvynenko, Executive Director of NVP ENERGO-PLUS LLC.
Source: The Page, Енергобізнес.
