Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTek wants €2.4bn funding to build a green-friendly smart grid around Kyiv.

The decentralised model would ensure immediate energy supply restoration after an attack. The company is also seeking €145m for three-year pilot in the war-hit Irpin, Bucha and Borodyanka region.

DTek plans to transform its war-shattered electricity network in areas surrounding the capital Kyiv by building a smart grid capable of better withstanding military assault and able to accelerate Ukraine’s energy transition.

The Kyiv regional power grid, which excludes the capital itself, was extensively damaged in spring 2022 as Russian forces advanced towards Kyiv and again after October 2022 when Russia targeted Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure.

Moscow’s attacks are now subject to separate investigations from the International Criminal Court and United Nations over possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.

After Ukrainian forces liberated areas near the capital in the first months of the war, DTek crews from around Ukraine immediately moved in to reconnect customers. Although they restored power in just 45 days, the network remains in need of extensive repairs and major upgrades to raise it to modern European standards.

To do that DTek Grids, its grid operating business, is seeking €2.4bn of funding in a ten-year project to transform the region’s power infrastructure. The plans, which must be approved by Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy, envisage building a smart grid with 20,000km of new overhead and underground cables, 250 substations, 6000 transformers and almost a million smart meters.

The resilient smart grid infrastructure would still work even if one segment is damaged or destroyed. There will be stronger connectivity to power produced from renewables. Digital-twin technology would allow engineers to model how the upgraded network functions.

The flexible system would let consumers become contributors through home-grown energy from household solar panels or even by de-charging car batteries.

DTek Grids is planning to test the new grid concept in a three-year pilot across Irpin, Bucha and Borodyanka, an area 24km from the capital that suffered attacks after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. The company is seeking to attract initial funding of €145m for the pilot.

“DTek does not seek to only rebuild what was destroyed but to build a new power sector for Ukraine that is cleaner, innovative and more resilient,” said Maxim Timchenko, DTek CEO, at the recent Ukraine Recovery Conference in London. “This investment will give the Kyiv region a world-class smart grid infrastructure that enables Ukraine’s energy transition, integrating renewable generation and preparing Ukraine to become a major clean energy hub for the European Union.”

DTek Grids is Ukraine’s largest electricity distribution business, providing electricity to 5.6 million customers over 190,000km of networks and through seven regional distribution system operators including in Kyiv city and the Kyiv region.