"Do we have light and do we have heating? It's the question that is asked of me almost every week," is how German Galushchenko, Ukraine's energy minister, opened his speech on Tuesday at a Rebuild Ukraine expo in Warsaw.
He also warned that a small accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently occupied by Russian forces, had the potential to stop investment in nuclear power around the world.
The two-day event focused on the reconstruction of Ukraine’s damaged economy, with a special focus on the country’s energy infrastructure.
More than 300 energy, construction and logistics companies from across Europe were in attendance, a larger gathering than at a previous expo in February.
Speaking to RTÉ News at the expo, Mr Galushchenko said that air defence systems were the best way to protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this winter.
"The energy system is ready but one thing that could impact the situation is the level of attacks," he said.
Between October 2022 and March this year, Russia launched more than 2,000 drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s power plants and other energy infrastructure, damaging the grid and leading to blackouts.
In a video address last Sunday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainians to prepare for a new wave of Russian attacks on the country’s infrastructure.
Ukraine connected its electricity grid to the Continental European Grid a mere 21 days after the start of Russia’s invasion in early 2022, disconnecting from the Russian-managed grid system.
Mr Galushchenko said that his government was in "deep cooperation" with the EU on reforms and legislation to integrate Ukraine’s energy market with the EU’s market.
Ukrainian energy infrastructure projects that are linked with EU member states can already apply to the EU’s Projects of Mutual Interest scheme.
The scheme provides easier access to finance and streamlines the permit process.
Mr Galushchenko said that the Irish Government had provided assistance to Ukraine’s energy sector since the start of the war.
In a statement emailed to RTÉ News, a spokesperson for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications wrote that the Department had donated circuit breakers, disconnectors, voltage transformers and other equipment to Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s state-owned energy company which runs the country’s electricity grid.
The donations were made with the cooperation of the ESB, the Department of Housing, Local Governance and Heritage, and the European Commission.
The Department has also donated an autotransformer to a power plant operated by DTEK, a Ukrainian company which distributes electricity.
"This involves a significant amount of equipment and coolant oil, approximately 70,000 litres. This is a valuable asset, with a potential to connect 200,000 customers," read the statement.
Officials from energy ministries from a number of EU countries, though not from Ireland, attended the event.
The UK and the US were also represented by senior energy secretaries.
Enterprise Ireland attended the event.
Individual Irish companies did not have a presence in the exhibition areas, though a representative from Kingspan took part in a panel discussion on investment opportunities.
Even before the war, Ukraine was a small market for Irish exports.
In 2021, exports to Ukraine by 80 Irish companies represented by Enterprise Ireland amounted to €14.6m.
More than 40 Finnish companies were in attendance, part of a delegation organised by Business Finland, a government agency.
Construction companies accounted for the core of the Finnish delegation.
"We were surprised from the very beginning how much interest there was towards our pavilions," Piotr Hajdecki, senior adviser at Business Finland’s office in Warsaw, told RTÉ News.
Mr Hajdecki said that his team found that many international firms who had approached them were seeking partners for joint projects in Ukraine.
Also present were 47 Swedish companies as well as sizeable delegations from France, Germany, Italy and the UK.
Representatives from 26 Ukrainian communities were also in attendance hoping to secure investment for reconstruction projects.
Ukraine has a relatively diverse energy mix. Four nuclear power plants generate more than 50% of the country's energy needs. Coal generates about 20% and hydropower about 10%.
The expo placed an emphasis on Kyiv's plans to increase the role of sustainable energy sources in the country’s post-war energy mix.
Mr Galushchenko said that he believed the current war will influence the development of energy in the future.
"No one wants to be dependent on the supply of fossil fuels from other countries," he said.
