Norway to provide NOK 3 billion for energy support to prepare for winter in Ukraine

‘Russia’s war of aggression has destroyed large parts of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. It is absolutely essential to ensure that the Ukrainian people have access to electricity this winter. Norway is now providing funding to secure electricity supplies for some one and a half million people and industrial activities in Ukraine. Bergen Engines won a contract for procurement of power supply equipment in an international tender process and funding for the equipment will be provided under the Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine. It was crucial that we succeeded in getting this important agreement in place, as winter is approaching bringing greater need,’ said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Norway is contributing to the efforts to rebuild power stations in the Dnipro region, Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Lviv. The latest procurement via UNDP will make it possible to deliver equipment to the Dnipro region this winter, thus providing an additional 80 MW of capacity to the national power grid. Equipment costs will be covered under the funding that was announced by Prime Minister Støre in June.

‘Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has led to a critical need for increased energy production. There is a shortage of this type of equipment in the market. It is therefore an essential agreement with UNDP to support Ukraine this winter,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, who is visiting in Ukraine this week.

On Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs was in Kyiv, where he visited a power plant with his Ukrainian colleague, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha.

Energy-related measures

The funding that will now be distributed will be used for energy-related projects as well as other types of support to help Ukrainians through the winter; from supplying entire cities with electricity, to providing individuals with packages containing sealing strips for windows to better insulate homes from the cold during power outages. These types of measures will enable Ukrainians to continue to live in their homes rather than having to flee.

In September of this year, Prime Minister Støre announced that the Norwegian Government is proposing to increase this year’s support to Ukraine by NOK 5 billion.

‘We plan to allocate NOK 1.5 billion of the additional funding to energy-related measures and preparations for winter in Ukraine. We are working to increase support to the energy sector, and we hope to announce additional allocations during the autumn and winter, to further support our Ukrainian friends,’ said Mr Eide.

Humanitarian assistance

The UN estimates that over 14.6 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian assistance. Some 3.7 million people are internally displaced and more than 6.7 million people have left Ukraine and sought refuge in other countries due to the war.

Therefore, an additional NOK 740 million of funding under the Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine will now be used to help people in need. The funds will be used to provide humanitarian assistance and preparations for winter in order to alleviate the needs that have arisen as a result of the war.

‘Ukraine’s civilian population has suffered greatly as a result of Russia’s brutal war. The efforts of the Ukrainian people to deal with daily attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure have been heroic. It is vital that the international community continues to support the humanitarian aid organisations in their efforts to provide the right kind of help at the right time,’ said Mr Eide.

Norway’s humanitarian support is channelled through the UN to local organisations via the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Norwegian humanitarian organisations. The funds will be used to provide life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable people, children, the elderly, refugees and internally displaced throughout the winter.