01.06.2026
At the Energy Forum “Energy Decentralization 2026: Generation, Storage and Financing”, held on May 26 in Kyiv within the framework of the International Specialized Exhibition Green EnerTech – 2026 and organized by the Energy Club business community in partnership with Kyiv Global Expo, Kostiantyn Yeremchuk, Head of Distributed Generation Projects at LLC “STC ENPASELECTRO”, presented a vision for the transformation of the Ukrainian power system in the face of the rapid development of distributed generation, energy storage systems, and microgrids.
The speaker based his presentation on CIGRE materials, ENTSO-E documents, and studies by the International Energy Agency. It is based on the thesis that the Ukrainian power system is undergoing the largest architectural change in its entire history.
“The logic is changing: from building more generation to managing resilience and reliability. This is already a different kind of engineering, a different economy, and a different management,” emphasized Kostiantyn Yeremchuk.
According to him, the traditional architecture of the unified power system of Ukraine was formed as a centralized, inertial, and predictable system based on large units of NPPs, TPPs with a capacity of 200–800 MW, and HPPs. Power flows were unidirectional — from generation to the end consumer, and stability was ensured by the physical inertia of large turbogenerators.
However, in recent years, and especially under wartime conditions, solar and wind power plants, energy storage systems, microgrids, and managed consumers have been massively appearing in the power system. In such a system, power flows are already becoming bidirectional, and managing them is only possible through digital platforms.
“Producing electricity today is not difficult, especially in summer due to solar generation. It is difficult to ensure system resilience in the face of tens of thousands of unstable generation sources. This is already a new physics of power system operation — it is not how many megawatts are in the system, but how they behave during disturbances,” noted Kostiantyn Yeremchuk, Head of Distributed Generation Projects at LLC “STC ENPASELECTRO”.
The speaker named the loss of system inertia as the main problem of the new power system. Solar and wind power plants are connected through inverters that do not have a rotating mass, and therefore do not provide physical inertia. Most modern inverters operate in grid-following mode — they follow the network frequency rather than forming it. The consequences of this are the absence of inertia in the first few hundred milliseconds after an accident, a decrease in short-circuit currents, and an increased risk of cascading emergencies and large-scale blackouts.
“The right question today is not how many megawatts are installed, but how much energy is left in the system and whether it will be enough to ensure resilience. And the dispatcher must answer this question in real time,” emphasized Kostiantyn Yeremchuk.
The transmission system operator is gradually shifting from classic power balancing to the role of a Real Time Stability Operator — a resilience operator in real time.
“Today it is not enough to ensure a balance between generation and consumption. It is necessary to manage inertia, dynamic stability, short-circuit capacity, and coordinate the operation of tens of thousands of distributed generation sources. This is already a different toolkit and a completely different level of operator training,” the speaker emphasized.
Kostiantyn Yeremchuk emphasized that the vision of LLC “STC ENPASELECTRO” does not imply the division of the unified power system of Ukraine:
“We are not in favor of dividing the power system. We are in favor of a unified power system, but with a new architecture that will make it more resilient.”
According to him, the current IPS of Ukraine is actually one large synchronous island, where any serious accident is instantly felt across the whole country. The future architecture should consist of several interconnected regional energy clusters, each of which will have its own balance, local reserves, and the capability of autonomous operation in island mode. Among such clusters, the expert named the western, central, southeastern, and northern ones. They will be connected by 750–330 kV trunk grids with the prospect of using high-voltage direct current HVDC back-to-back links.
Separately, the speaker drew attention to the fact that inertia is becoming the same strategic resource as active power:
“If inertia becomes a critical resource, it must be managed. The transmission system operator must constantly control the total kinetic energy of synchronous machines, grid strength, fast-acting BESS reserves, and grid-forming resources,” he noted.
In his presentation, Kostiantyn Yeremchuk paid attention to the role of thermal generation in the future power system. According to him, the global trend is not only in building solar and wind power plants, but also in creating hybrid energy complexes, where RES are combined with energy storage systems and grid-forming technologies. At the same time, he is convinced that TPPs must remain part of the power system for at least the next ten years.
“TPPs must remain in the system. They provide physical inertia, primary and secondary frequency control, form reactive power, operate as reserves at the dispatcher’s command, and ensure Black Start without external power supply,” said Kostiantyn Yeremchuk, Head of Distributed Generation Projects at LLC “STC ENPASELECTRO”.
Their role remains particularly important during evening peak loads, the loss of large RES nodes, the system’s transition to island mode, or grid damage due to military actions.
“Premature decommissioning of TPPs will create a deficit not of energy, but of system resilience. The former can be compensated by new megawatts, the latter cannot,” emphasized Kostiantyn Yeremchuk.
According to LLC “STC ENPASELECTRO”, the Ukrainian power system will be hybrid for the next ten years. “This is not a transitional stage. This is the target architecture of Ukraine’s power system for the next decade,” the speaker remarked.
In such a system, each technology performs its own function. Nuclear power plants provide the base load and constant synchronous inertia. HPPs and PSPPs are responsible for balancing in the time range from minutes to hours. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) provide fast frequency and power regulation. TPPs form inertia, reserves, and maneuverability.
“We will not be able to produce electricity cheaper anywhere than from solar and wind. RES are the basis for the decarbonization of Ukraine’s power system,” stated Yeremchuk.
At the same time, microgrids, according to him, provide local resilience and autonomy for critical infrastructure:
“Discussions like ‘nuclear or solar’, ‘wind or gas’, ‘are TPPs needed’ are false. All these technologies are elements of stability of a single power system,” he added.
Significant changes, according to Kostiantyn Yeremchuk, are also taking place at the level of distribution system operators. If previously oblenergos were effectively passive channels for electricity transmission, now they are becoming operators of active networks, local balancing, and flexibility. That is why flexible connection mechanisms are gradually being implemented in Ukraine.
“Flexible connection allows reducing connection costs by up to 80%. The investor agrees to certain limitations but receives the opportunity for a fast connection without waiting years for network reconstruction,” said the expert.
A special place in the future architecture is occupied by flexibility aggregators and virtual power plants: “If there are a hundred thousand domestic solar power plants, thousands of storage units, and a million charging stations for electric vehicles in Ukraine, the dispatcher will physically not be able to manage each object individually”. That is why the flexibility aggregator will combine small resources into a Virtual Power Plant, provide balancing, frequency and voltage regulation, and act as a single counterparty for transmission and distribution system operators.
Kostiantyn Yeremchuk named microgrids as the key tool for ensuring the resilience of the future power system. By definition, a Micro Grid is an autonomous energy hub with its own generation, load, and management system, capable of operating both synchronously with the grid and in Island Mode. The key property of a microgrid is a smooth transition between modes without loss of power supply.
According to the expert, microgrids are capable of providing energy to critical infrastructure, relieving trunk grids, increasing local stability, and ensuring system survivability during attacks.
“One hundred microgrids in a region will not fail at the same time, unlike one large high-voltage substation,” he excelled.
At the same time, effective management of tens of thousands of distributed resources is impossible without digital transformation: “Building 10 GW of RES is not difficult. But without digital infrastructure, it will not work as a single system”.
For this, according to the Head of Distributed Generation Projects at LLC “STC ENPASELECTRO”, modern EMS at the transmission system operator level, ADMS and DERMS at the distribution system operator level, digital substations of the IEC 61850 standard, telemetry, and comprehensive cybersecurity systems are required.
Separately, the speaker drew attention to the requirements of international donors regarding cybersecurity:
“European and American funds are already explicitly recommending to avoid using Chinese controllers in BESS and Micro Grid systems. Future projects will be financed taking into account cyber protection requirements and the use of European and American management systems,” he noted.
Concluding his speech, Kostiantyn Yeremchuk noted that Ukraine is entering a period when the main resource is not just megawatts: “Manageability, flexibility, reaction speed, and system resilience are becoming the new resources”.
According to him, the installed capacity of BESS energy storage systems in Ukraine has already reached about 600 MW, and the future architecture of the power system will be based on the mass implementation of microgrids, distributed generation, digital management, and cyber protection.
“The future of the power system is not a struggle between traditional and new generation. It is their correct configuration and coordination. The discussion ‘nuclear vs solar’ or ‘gas vs batteries’ is a false formulation of the question. In a mature power system of the XXI century, all technologies perform different functions, and all of them are needed,” the expert stated.
That is why by 2035, Ukraine faces three key tasks:
