Ukraine has significantly expanded its ability to import electricity from the European Union after technical limits on cross-border imports to the combined Ukraine–Moldova zone were raised to 2,450 MW for January, replacing the previous ceiling of 2,150 MW. This increase widens the margin available to manage system stress during the winter season, when demand peaks and domestic generation faces heightened risks.
The adjustment was coordinated by transmission system operators in the Eastern Europe Capacity Calculation Region, working with ENTSO-E and the regional coordination center TSCnet. The revised limit applies to the shared regulatory area of Ukraine and Moldova, improving technical availability and giving Ukraine more options to stabilize its grid during periods of cold weather and high consumption.
Despite the higher ceiling, the actual volume of electricity imported will still depend on market conditions, particularly price differences between Ukraine and neighboring EU states. Monthly assessments of cross-border capacity are designed to improve predictability of power flows, building on coordinated auctions recently carried out on interconnections with Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
According to Ukrenergo, the expanded import limit strengthens the resilience of the power system at a time when infrastructure continues to suffer from ongoing attacks. While technical headroom alone does not guarantee higher imports, the operator emphasized that the January increase creates a more favorable framework for maintaining system balance.
Ukrenergo also noted that daily electricity imports have already exceeded last year’s peak levels, highlighting the real-world importance of the newly available capacity during the current winter period.