Dmytro Yehudin, Chief Operating Officer of DTEK Energy, took part in the We Build Ukraine conference dedicated to the development of energy as a key driver of economic growth and recovery in Ukraine. The event brought together representatives of business, government and international partners to discuss the Economic Growth Strategy developed in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group.
During the panel discussion ‘The electricity market: what is needed to improve the investment climate,’ Yehudin outlined the main challenges the Ukrainian energy sector is facing during the war: massive shelling of energy infrastructure, personnel losses, significant destruction of generating capacity and limited access to financing. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, DTEK Energy's thermal power plants have been attacked more than 200 times, and as of last summer, 90% of the company's generating capacity had been destroyed or damaged.
Despite this, DTEK Energy is implementing a large-scale repair campaign: in 2022–2024 alone, it has invested UAH 9.6 billion of its own funds in repairs to its TPPs and UAH 18 billion in supporting coal mining.
Yehudin emphasised that despite unprecedented challenges, Ukrainian energy companies are not only ‘holding the rear’ but also planning long-term investment projects. According to him, restoring generating capacity after shelling remains a priority for the company, but strategically, DTEK Energy is betting on a gradual transformation of thermal generation. In the medium term, this means a transition from coal-fired units to combined cycle gas turbines, the development of long-term energy storage systems (BESS), and, as part of the company's long-term strategy, research into SMR (small modular reactor) technologies to replace coal-fired units.
"The Ukrainian energy sector is undergoing unprecedented challenges, but right now the foundation is being laid for its modernisation and further integration into the European space. Our task is to ensure stability today and lay the foundation for the energy sector of tomorrow. But this requires both domestic support and the support of international partners," emphasised DTEK Energy Chief Operating Officer Dmytro Yehudin.