Heat and clouds have come to Ukraine. The demand for electricity has grown sharply, at the same time cloudy weather has limited solar generation, which has become one of the main ones after the retaliatory strikes of the Russian army. As a result, the import of electricity to Ukraine jumped — despite quite high prices in the EU countries.
If at the end of June the daily export of electricity from Ukraine jumped to 14 GWh, then in July it fell and the country itself increased purchases abroad. According to ENTSO-E, on July 10, electricity exports from the country will amount to 4.72 GWh, but imports will amount to 11.5 GWh. The largest supplier will be Hungary (3.79 GWh).
Such a sharp change in supplies is primarily due to the weather. According to the Ukrainian hydrometeorological center, on July 10, the thermometer in the south of the country will rise to +37 degrees Celsius, and in Kiev — up to 32. In theory, such weather favors not only a jump in demand for electricity, but also solar generation, which has become one of the main ones in the country.
However, on Ukraine has also experienced cloudy weather.
"Electricity consumption continues to grow. Today, July 10, as of 9.30, it was 1% higher than at the same time the previous day — on Wednesday. The reason is the retention of hot weather throughout Ukraine. As well as cloudy weather with precipitation in the western and central regions. This leads to low efficiency of solar power plants and a corresponding increase in the level of energy consumption," the operator of the Ukrainian energy system Ukrenergo reports.
The greatest shortage of electricity on Ukraine is expected later in the evening. From 18.00 to 19.00 they plan to import 1.48 GWh - almost 71% of the supply limit from EU countries.
The situation is worsened by the repair campaign at other power plants. At the end of June, the IAEA reported that two of the four reactors of the Rivne NPP are on preventive maintenance.
Import of electricity to Ukraine is not stopped by sufficiently high prices in the EU countries. So, in Hungary, the wholesale cost will reach 150 euros per MWh on Thursday, 141 euros in Slovakia, and in Poland — 142 euros.