Romania provided emergency energy deliveries to Ukraine in August and September of this year, aiming to balance the tension in the interconnected grid of continental Europe.

Ukraine and Moldova were integrated into the European electricity market shortly after Russia’s invasion. Voltage oscillations were recently detected in the grid interconnection in the east-west direction, and the TSO (Transport and System Operator) from Spain requested that Ukraine, according to the emergency interconnection procedures, reduce the export balance to 0 MW, according to Profit.ro.

As a result, Transelectrica, the state electricity transmission system operator in Romania, had to send its Ukrainian counterpart Ukrenergo 3,725 MWh, for which Ukraine paid RON 9.6 mln (EUR 1.94 mln), at an average price of RON 2,580 / MWh during August and September. Over the same months, the average day-ahead market closing price at the Romanian OPCOM exchange was RON 2,400 / MWh, and RON 1,855 / MWh, respectively.

According to the rules governing the energy transport network, Transelectrica can grant emergency assistance to energy systems with which it is interconnected and with which it has agreements.

Romania is also granting emergency energy to Moldova at prices between EUR 190 and EUR 348 / MWh. Ukraine had to stop delivering electricity to Moldova due to Russian attacks on its energy system. The separatist region of Transnistria, in Moldova, also stopped deliveries from the Cuciurgan plant, which it controls, due to a reduction in gas shipments from Gazprom.

The national energy system of Ukraine and that of the Republic of Moldova, which depends overwhelmingly on the former, has been operating since March 16 in synchronization with those in Western Europe, managed by the transport and system operators grouped in the European Association of Transmission System Operators of Electricity (European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity - ENTSO-E).

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Sergіy Bobok | Dreamstime.com)