Ukrhydroenergo, a Ukrainian sate-owned hydropower generating company, has received the first tranche of EUR 50 million (USD $56.8 million) under a loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Italian Government for the “Emergency Restoration of Hydropower Plants” project.
The funds were provided in March 2025 for emergency liquidity support of the company. This first 50 million euros out of a total of 200 million euros is meant to provide financial support to Ukrhydroenergo and strengthen the financial stability of the company in the event of martial law, the company said.
The purpose of the project is to restore some of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that was damaged or destroyed as part of the Russian military invasion, which began in February 2022. Last December, Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal submitted by the Ministry of Energy and Ukrhydroenergo, which is meant to restore some hydropower facilities within two years, Ukrinform reports.
Ukraine’s energy system1 has been regularly targeted by Russia since its full-scale invasion in 2022, with attacks intensifying since the spring of 2024, per the International Energy Agency (IEA). Over the course of 2022-23, about half of Ukraine’s power generation capacity was either occupied by Russian forces, destroyed or damaged, and approximately half of the large network substations were damaged by missiles and drones.
By May 2024, Ukraine was left with only around one-third of its pre-war capacity, even before another round of attacks during the summer. Ukraine experienced an acute power deficit over the summer months of 2024, when its generation capacity fell 2.3 GW below its peak demand of 12 GW, despite electricity imports from Ukraine’s western neighbors.
