Ukraine’s power grid, unplugged from Russia’s, now syncs to continental Europe’s.
Doing “a year’s work in two weeks,” technical experts on Wednesday finished synchronizing Ukraine’s and Moldova’s power grids with continental Europe’s, the European Commission said, an important step in ensuring a stable electricity supply.
The grids were previously connected to the Russian and Belarusian ones. The plan to connect to the continental European grid had long been in place, and was expected to be put into effect sometime next year, but the invasion precipitated the switch.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine thanked European Union leaders for the move to “a single energy system.” Kadri Simson, the European commissioner for energy, tweeted that it was “a historic milestone for our relationship.”
The technically complex operation means that the Ukrainian and Moldovan power companies are no longer dependent on Russia or Belarus for the stability of power flow in their countries.
The continental European grid that the two countries have now connected to includes a number of European Union countries, as well as several others in the broader region, including Albania, Switzerland and Turkey.