Energy Communitys Fond för stöd till Ukrainas Energi infrastruktur

- financial contributions was received from 17 different donors during 2023. The UESF total balance reached EUR 349,508,332 by the close of the year. Since the Funds establishment in 2022, it has attracted contributions from 20 donors in total from both the public and private sector. Sweden is the fourth largest donor after Germany, EU/EC, and UK/FCDO. The first donor meeting was conducted in Vienna in November 2023. - a substantive part of these funds is specifically earmarked for financing of specific types of projects, namely in decentralized renewable energy, large-scale renewable facility repairs, physical protection, thermal power generation, and mobile gas turbines; or restricted in other ways. This earmarking affects the availability of funds for addressing other needs of Ukrainian counterparties confronted with war-related damages. Furthermore, due to the ongoing attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure and the damages caused, further contributions are needed to address the most urgent needs to repair and maintain the energy infrastructure. - Ministry of Energy of Ukraine approved 57 support requests from Ukrainian energy companies, an increase from 10 requests approved in 2022. These requests came from a total of 44 Ukrainian counterparties. The sectors most frequently requesting support were electricity distribution and combined heat and power generation, gas distribution. - the procurement activities also accelerated during 2023, with the total value of items contracted reaching EUR 128.6 million, a substantial rise from EUR 0.5 million in 2022. The support in the amount of EUR 128.6 million was contracted through 174 purchase agreements, compared to 13 agreements in 2022. They resulted in 231 individual payment transactions. The majority of the procured equipment consisted of transformers, special purpose vehicles, switchgear, and steam turbines. - the majority of the procured items, representing 70% of the total value, were sourced from Ukraine, 28.9% came from suppliers based in the EU. Hence, the fund is in this way supporting local private sector companies and the local economy. - the verification process is carried out by a combination of external experts, National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities (NEURC), and the Secretariat itself. Donors and the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine can also conduct their own independent monitoring and verification activities, with the Energy Community Secretariat providing assistance within its capacity and access to information. Energy Community Secretariat has initiated a close cooperation with the NEURC to verify the utilization of items procured and delivered under the Fund. On the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding, NEURC includes all items procured and delivered under the Fund in its annual inspections and submits the corresponding protocols to the Secretariat.

The Ukraine Energy Support Fund (UESF) was established in April 2022, in response to the full-scale war in Ukraine by Russia, and the countrys destroyed energy infrastructure. The overall objective of the UESF is to ensure that the energy system in Ukraine is functioning in a stable manner, providing energy consumers with uninterrupted supply of electricity, which in turn enables a stable supply of heating, water, and sanitation services in the country. This will be done through restoring the resilience of the Ukrainian energy system through financial support to energy-related companies.