EBRD to provide EUR 75 million loan to finance Ukrhydroenergo emergency energy response project

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a EUR 75 million loan to finance a project of PJSC Ukrhydroenergo. The funds will be extended under a European Union guarantee within the Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF).

The relevant agreement between the EBRD and PJSC Ukrhydroenergo was signed on Wednesday, 7 January. Representatives of the European Commission, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture took part in the signing ceremony.

The financing package also includes investment grants from international donors amounting to up to EUR 20 million.

Ukrhydroenergo has been consistently cooperating with the EBRD to attract financing for the implementation of the project “Restoration of UHE Hydropower Plants (Modernisation and Rehabilitation of Hydropower Generation Facilities of PJSC Ukrhydroenergo)”, which envisages the modernisation and restoration of hydropower generation assets.

The project aims to ensure the stable operation of PJSC Ukrhydroenergo under martial law, carry out emergency repair and recovery works, and replace equipment to enhance the reliability and safe operation of three hydropower facilities – the Dnipro Hydropower Plant (Dnipro HPP) and the Kyiv HPP and PSP cascade. In addition, the project includes the procurement of critically needed equipment to enable rapid emergency response, given the systematic attacks by the russian federation on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Grant funds are planned to be allocated for the procurement of hydromechanical equipment for the Kaniv HPP branch, which has suffered significant physical wear over years of operation and no longer meets modern technical requirements.

The tentative project completion date is 2030.

“Grateful to our European partners for mobilising EUR 95 million in financing for the restoration of Ukrainian hydropower plants, which continue to come under constant attack from russia during martial law. Supporting energy infrastructure today is critically important for economic resilience, uninterrupted energy supply, and the safety of our citizens.

We look forward to further expanding financing through European Union instruments, in particular the guarantee mechanisms of the European Commission, and to other international financial institutions joining this initiative. This approach helps reduce the public debt burden while at the same time enabling Ukraine and its European partners to respond swiftly and effectively to new challenges,” said Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Olga Zykova.