Over the three years of full-scale war in Ukraine, more than 63,000 energy infrastructure facilities have been destroyed. Nearly 10 GW of generating capacity has been lost — almost one-third of the pre-war level—while the total damages to the energy sector have reached $93 billion.
However, despite the aggressor’s relentless attacks, Ukraine has managed to restore 5 GW of capacity — an achievement unprecedented in global practice.
But when the system is on the brink, it’s not just wires holding it together. Behind the cold statistics — beyond the machinery, cables, and pipes — there are, above all, people. People who rush into danger zones, engineer solutions from scratch, spend nights at critical sites, and hold on even when it feels like there’s nothing left to hold on to.
This isn’t a story about technology. It’s about people. And about work that looks nothing on the inside like it does in presentations.
An object that might have been lost
When we began the project to build a gas turbine unit in a region located dangerously close to the combat zone, we knew upfront: it would be hard. But we couldn’t have imagined just how hard.
The client chose this site due to the urgent need to supply electricity to frontline communities and the technical feasibility of locating generation capacity in this particular region. The decision was well-justified from both an energy balance perspective and the critical need for stable power supply.
And this changed everything. But geography wasn’t joking either: the frontline was right there. And that changed everything.
We had to work in such a way that the unit would be difficult to detect from the air. A turbine is not a small transformer — it’s two 50-meter containers, clearly visible.
That’s why we «positioned» the remaining equipment as far apart as possible, arranging the units so that, in the event of a strike, at least part of them would remain intact — and could be restored quickly.
Another key consideration is mobility. We had to account for scenarios where equipment would need to be disassembled into modules and evacuated. Additionally, we needed to plan the routes for such evacuations. This is unconventional for power generation projects, but war leaves no time for standard approaches.
And most importantly – the team. The work on site was organized in shifts, with crews of 20 people working 12-hour rotations. Everyone knew the front line was nearby. Everyone was acutely aware that the risk was real, yet no one refused. No one stopped.
And that is probably the main thing I will remember about the construction.
The work you weren’t taught
We began work when there was no complete project plan in place. We started even before the foundation’s location had been finalized. Technical solutions were prepared as sketches and were immediately approved by the client.
We immediately understood that a long-length trestle (cable line) would be required. To save time, our construction crews began earthworks right away. The construction of the 500-meter-long trestle proceeded even without the approved final drawings. But we knew it would be necessary. And we placed our full trust in our specialists.
Looking at the work schedule now, it seems completely unrealistic. But we did it because we couldn’t afford to hesitate. Because the «design and build» approach wasn’t a risky gamble – it was the only viable response to the situation.
All work was completed within 4 months, which is an unbelievable timeframe by global standards. But not for us.
When strangers become a team
We were joined on-site by Irish engineers, who were the lead engineers from the equipment manufacturer. We initially became acquainted while working on a similar project in central Ukraine, and by the time we were at the frontline site, we had already become a true team.
They were calm, methodical, and deliberate. We were pace, decisiveness and initiative. And it was the combination of these approaches that delivered the result.
They were surprised by the speed of our work. We were impressed by their calm reaction to any issue. This wasn’t a case of «Ukrainians vs. Foreigners». It was about standing side by side and working together. We learned from one another. We had trust.
Breakthrough that changed the game
And our first project of this scale was the construction of a gas turbine power unit in one of the regions of Ukraine. In a region where one of the thermal power plants (TPPs) had been completely destroyed.
At that site, we installed a Mitsubishi gas turbine power unit with a capacity of 23.8 MW. This was the first such project to be implemented in Ukraine.
Here, a brief explanation is needed. Gas turbine units are considered a backup or emergency power source throughout the world. The unit is deployed on any site and connected to the consumer via separate cables.
But in our case, the Mitsubishi unit was to be used as a permanent power source. Therefore, it was necessary to complete the entire scope of work for its connection to the grid. And that is a completely different story.
If the necessary work is carried out step-by-step, launching this kind of generation would take at best 9 to 11 months.
But we didn’t have that kind of time. And we did it in 4 months
The secret is teamwork. The participants in the process — Oblenergo, the Client, and «ENERGO-PLUS» — were not three separate parties to an agreement. There was only one team, united by a common goal: to launch the power generation as quickly as possible.
Decisions were made rapidly, with design and construction proceeding simultaneously. The unique calculations by our team of experts, led by Director of Strategic Development and Project Innovation Works Yurii Pryvalov, allowed for the precise synchronization of the turbine with the grid. There are only a select number of companies in Ukraine capable of executing such projects.
We effectively implemented the project within the new regulatory framework approved by the Ministry of Energy. And thanks to our practical experience, it became clear how these regulations perform in real-world conditions. They are now establishing a new engineering standard for the entire industry.
This is no longer about us — it’s about the country.
To connect to the grid means to intervene in an old system
Every new facility is a battle not only against time, but also against the technology of the past. Outdated Soviet-era equipment doesn’t want to «cooperate» with new generators. Engineers create schemes from scratch, seeking solutions that don’t exist in any manuals.
Calculations of dynamic stability become critically important. If everything is not taken into account, the system can lose balance.
Therefore, we check every node, every point — how it works, how it reacts, how it is brought out of a failure mode.
This is daily work. But it is the invisible foundation of stability.
It’s not about megawatts. It’s about people
We have already implemented three facilities. We have added 150 MW to the system. This represents 15% of the target set by the President of Ukraine for last year — 1 GW of new generation capacity.
But this story isn’t about megawatts. And it’s not about the company.
This is about a team that doesn’t ask «will we make it in time?», but asks «where do we start?». We don’t work until 5 PM, we work until the job is done. And while some are still asking «is this even possible?», we respond: «it’s already done».
Author of the article: Yevhen Korf, CEO of NVP ENERGO-PLUS LLC.
Source: «Економічна Правда».
