Trypilska TPP to be repaired and sold off
Damaged Trypilska TPP (Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)
Ukraine plans to repair the Trypilska
thermal power plant (TPP) after repeated Russian air strikes and prepare it
for privatization in 2027, State Property Fund (SPF) head Dmytro Natalukha told
Reuters on May 21.
Natalukha told Reuters the fund aims to privatize Centrenergo (state-owned utility company running Trypilska TPP and several other facilities) but must first restore the Trypilska plant. He said three parallel processes must be completed by 2027: preparing the plant for next winter, carrying out repairs, and assembling documentation for privatization.
“We have several issues to solve at the same time, and none of them are easy,” Natalukha said.
He said he could not yet estimate the cost of repairs or give a timetable for restoring output, and he offered no further details on the privatization process. He added that major European and U.S. energy companies could be interested in buying Centrenergo.
Reuters noted that the war remains the main obstacle to the ambitious plan, with Russia intensifying attacks on energy infrastructure in winter and often destroying repairs made in summer. Trypilska, which supplies Kyiv and the surrounding region, suffered heavy damage in Russian airstrikes in spring 2024 and has produced little power since. The plant’s capacity is about 1.8 gigawatts, roughly equivalent to two nuclear reactors, and Natalukha said it is considered a high-risk target.
“Part of the roof over the vast facility is missing, while inside dozens of workers are trying to bring back to life the massive, blackened turbines, boilers and pipelines,” Reuters reported.
An independent energy analyst, Mykhailo Honchar, said privatization in wartime is unlikely to succeed.
“No one will invest in repairing or building new capacity
knowing it can be destroyed at any moment,” he said.
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