Ukraine accumulates gas faster than planned: Shmyhal assessed winter readiness
Ukrainian underground storage facilities have already accumulated 14.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Stockpiling is ahead of schedule, and the available volumes along with planned supplies should be sufficient to get through the heating season under the baseline scenario.
This was announced by First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal during the "Government Question Time" in the Verkhovna Rada.
"Storage facilities already hold 14.3 billion cubic meters of gas. We are ahead of schedule", he stated.
According to the minister, along with future supplies, the accumulated reserves should be enough for a stable heating season, if the situation develops according to the baseline scenario.
Shmyhal also reported that coal reserves at Ukrainian power plants currently exceed planned targets.
Earlier, the Ministry of Energy set a target to accumulate at least 13.2 billion cubic meters of gas by the start of the heating season, of which about 4.6 billion cubic meters were to be provided through imports. Ukraine is attracting funding from international partners for gas purchases.
In particular, Norway has already allocated almost $100 million for the purchase of imported gas, and Naftogaz has signed a loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for €500 million.
Fuel accumulation is one of the five key areas of preparing Ukraine's energy system for winter. At the same time, repairs of generation facilities, construction of protection for energy infrastructure, and deployment of distributed capacities are ongoing.
According to Shmyhal, this year 4.8 GW of generating capacity has already been repaired, and about 4 GW more are under repair. In total, during 2026, it is planned to restore and build over 10 GW of capacity.
