Energy consumption on rise in Ukraine as temperatures drop - operator

As winter cold kicked in and the holiday period ended, electricity consumption in Ukraine is increasing.

That’s according to NEC Ukrenergo, the national operator of the unified power grid, Ukrinform reports.

"Electricity consumption is gradually increasing. This is due to the end of the holidays, the start of the working week, and cold weather. Yesterday, January 2, the daily consumption max was seen in the evening hours, being 13.8% higher than on Tuesday, December 26. Today, January 3, the level of consumption as of 10:00 is 14% higher than at 10:00 on January 2," the statement reads.

It is noted that currently, generation capacities cover the demand but a sharp increase in consumption creates a significant additional load on the grid.

"In order to help the power system work through this difficult period, it is enough to transfer the use of energy-intensive devices from the evening hours of maximum load, 16:00-19:00, to night or morning hours," Ukrenergo stressed.

On January 3, electricity is being exported to Romania and Moldova in the night hours of minimum consumption, at a total volume of 1,493 MWh. Imports are scheduled for the afternoon hours from Slovakia and Romania, a total of 1,138 MWh.

As reported, on January 1 and 2, Poland provided emergency assistance to the Ukrainian power system by taking in excess electricity.