New Minister of Energy of Ukraine Outlines Three Main Work Priorities

The Verkhovna Rada supported the appointment of former Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal as the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy. In his new position, he identified three main areas of focus: restoring energy infrastructure, enhancing sector resilience, and modernizing the energy sector.

This is reported by AgroReview

Action Plan in Response to the Energy Crisis

Denys Shmyhal emphasized the need to overcome the acute phase of the energy crisis as quickly as possible, which arose due to massive attacks by the Russian Federation on Ukraine’s energy facilities. According to him, since the beginning of the full-scale war, nearly every energy facility in the country has been subjected to shelling, with total losses and damages reaching 10 GW of capacity.

“Resilience also means developing decentralized generation; we are focusing on this as well. Last year, 762 MW of new gas generation was put into operation. The dynamics are positive, but the pace needs to be sharply increased through deregulation, simplifying connection mechanisms to the grid, and attracting investments,” Shmyhal noted.

Restoration of Generation and Protection of the Energy Sector

The Minister of Energy stressed that the government, together with the Ministry of Energy, aims to create a model of the energy system in which distributed generation can meet local needs and create reserves in case of emergencies. He paid special attention to the necessity of building protection for energy facilities, as the Russian Federation continues its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Shmyhal also noted that an important direction is the accelerated construction of new nuclear power units. According to him, the Khmelnytsky Nuclear Power Plant currently has the greatest prospects, as it is closest to launching a new power unit.