Distributed power generation for water utilities is not only a guarantee of uninterrupted operations in wartime conditions, but also a potential starting point for improving their financial health. That is why companies should already be investing available resources into developing their own generation capacity – because it is a strategic investment in resilience and future growth.
This was emphasized by Oleksandr Kisilov, Head of Distributed Generation at ECU, during the International Water Forum, which brought together dozens of water sector enterprises from across Ukraine.
First, own energy sources are critically important amid increasingly frequent and prolonged emergency outages of centralized power supply – something Kyiv and a number of frontline cities have already experienced. Second, own generation significantly reduces electricity costs, which are the main component of water supply and wastewater service tariffs. This, in turn, eases the financial burden on municipal utilities that are currently operating under chronic underfunding.
At present, all the key prerequisites for developing own generation are in place:
– donors are actively financing such projects, while banks offer loans on favorable terms;
– the state has significantly simplified procedures for construction, grid connection, and commissioning of generation facilities;
– ECU, as a state aggregator, supports municipal enterprises at every stage – from concept to commercial operation – and helps them maximize returns from participating in the electricity market.
During the forum, the first successful case studies were presented: water utilities that have already installed solar power plants and cogeneration units. The results have exceeded expectations — both technically and economically.
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