DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko took part in the Bilateral Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine on 26 April in Rome which was presided over by the president of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, and Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal.
Mr Timchenko reported on the energy industry’s present state of affairs in Ukraine, from the point of view of its largest company DTEK. “A unified programme for the recovery of Ukraine’s energy sector is our objective,” he said. “Consolidating international aid, state support, lending opportunities from international financial institutions would help. IFI funding for recovery is currently available only to state-owned companies. We hope this approach will be reconsidered soon, allowing us to speed up the recovery and improve the electricity supply. The most valuable form of support for our energy sector at this moment would be attracting green energy investments to Ukraine” added. He noted that it is imperative to ensure that investments in the Ukrainian energy sector are secured, with comprehensive risk and war insurance measures in place, and pointed out the importance of establishing a level playing field for all market participants in the energy sector, which underscores the ongoing importance of continuing reforms.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, over 6800 new staff in coal mining, power generating and machine-building enterprises of the company have been recruited. Almost 3000 of them were forced to flee their homes owing to occupation or the proximity of hostilities. The majority of these internal displaced persons, about 95%, have been offered a job at the coal mining enterprises of DTEK Energy. Most of them, not being professional miners, were retrained at their workplace. Another 850 new employees are young people who have just graduated from educational institutions and started their career in coal mining.
During the week 17 – 23 April DTEK energy workers restored electricity to 62 000 families in 72 settlements that were left without electricity owing to shelling in the Donetsk region. DTEK Grids are restoring power lines destroyed by the Russians as soon as they receive permission from the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Emergency Service. Donetsk remains the scene of the fiercest hostilities. Power grids are being damaged daily by enemy attacks.
In southeastern Ukraine, miners are working 24 hours a day extracting coal to power the country's war effort and to provide civilians with light and heat. The work of the coal miners cannot fully compensate for the loss of energy from nuclear power plants, but every megawatt generated from coal is reducing the supply gap.
Image: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (R) and her Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal (L) at the recent conference in Rome (courtesy of Decode39)
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