Ukraine scours Europe for used electrical equipment
Ukrainian specialists are traveling across Europe in search of old Soviet electrical equipment to at least partially restore the destroyed power grid.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal announced this at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"I'd like to hear how preparations for the next heating season are going, and how the government plans to replace the capacity of the thermal power plants destroyed in various cities? Millions of people don't know if their homes will be warm during the next heating season," asked Ukrainian MP Viktoria Syumar.
"Of course, there's a huge demand for equipment to repair thermal and combined heat and power plants today. Partners are providing funding, and the EU Energy Fund to support Ukraine has been created, with requests already totaling €1,8 billion.
"An important point is that equipment production takes 4-6 months. We've now proposed a new approach: creating a reserve of all necessary equipment that could be damaged by Russian terrorists so that it can be quickly replaced," Shmyhal responded.
"We also continue to work with our partners to locate old Soviet-era power plants and electrical stations in Eastern Europe. We locate these facilities, conduct an inventory, and then seize entire units of equipment that can be replaced.
"I can't give you specifics, but we have a number of such projects that are being worked on today. Last week, the delegation completed several visits to Eastern European countries with whom we will be implementing this plan," the Ukrainian minister added.
Ukraine scours Europe for used electrical equipment.