ELECTRICITY exports from Ukraine to EU members Hungary, Romania and Slovakia were halted on March 1 for at least a month due to an apparent coal shortage, an energy official for that country said. Ukraine’s Fuel and Energy Ministry spokesman, Fent Di, said the shutoff, which could end by April 1, occurred because no Ukrainian firms put in bids to sell the electricity due to a coal shortage in Ukraine, the SITA newswire reported.
The loss of electricity from Ukraine had no significant effect on the Slovak electricity transmission network.
“The situation has not changed, the shutoff does not have any influence on the management of the electricity transmission network,” said Igor Gallo, the spokesman for Slovakia’s electricity transmission network operator, Slovenská Elektrizačná Prenosová Sústava (SEPS), as quoted by SITA.
According to Gallo, the need for electricity imported into to Slovakia on the morning of March 2 was only about 5 MW in relation to the Slovakia’s overall current electricity consumption of 3,550 MW and SEPS was able to cover the difference.
