Russia's repeated rocket attacks on Ukraine's energy sector have cost a staggering $56.2 billion in damages
The devastation to Ukraine's energy sector after Russia's repeated mass missile attacks has cost Ukraine $56.2 billion, according to estimates by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE).
Reconstruction will cost $50.6 billion, KSE said.
The direct losses to Ukraine's sector as of May 2024 amount to more than $16.1 billion.
The greatest losses were caused by the destruction of electricity generation facilities ($8.5 billion), main electricity transmission lines ($2.1 billion), and oil and gas infrastructure ($3.3 billion).
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Russia has occupied electricity-generating facilities capable of generating over 18 GW, including Europe's largest nuclear power plant (NPP) in Zaporizhzhya.
Russia has destroyed the Kakhovka and Dniprovska hydroelectric plants (HPP), and the Zmiiv and Trypilska thermal power plants (TPP).
Private thermal power plants, including the Ladyzhyn, Burshtyn, Dobrotvir, Kurakhiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Prydniprovska TPPs, have suffered critical damage (more than 80%).
About half of the high-voltage power transmission substations have been damaged.
Russian troops have destroyed every oil refinery on Ukrainian territory and a significant part of the infrastructure for storing oil and its products.
Read also: Ukrainians urged to conserve electricity, brace for harsh winter amid escalating Russian attacks
Indirect losses to the energy sector have cost Ukraine nearly $40.1 billion, the main share falling on the lost income of energy companies — $39.6 billion.
The rest is attributed to the costs of dismantling rubble and carrying out dismantling work on damaged objects — $500 million.
KSE estimates the total cost for the recovery of the energy sector in Ukraine to be $50.5 billion, including the cost for the full reconstruction of destroyed and damaged energy infrastructure.
KSE uses the principle of "Rebuild better than it was" ($48.5 billion).
The remaining costs include ensuring the liquidity needs of energy companies due to lost revenues due to the war ($2 billion).
KSE estimates the cost of restoring the electric power sector at $33.8 billion, including $29.3 billion for generation facilities.
Another $4.6 billion is needed to restore the transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Restoring Ukraine's oil and gas sector will cost $14.8 billion, while district heating sector restoration will cost $1.4 billion, and that doesn't include the restoration of large TPPs.
The assessment of direct and indirect damages was carried out by the analytical team of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) in accordance with the methodology of the World Bank, taking into account a significant amount of microdata collected by specialized authorities, local civil-military administrations, and energy companies since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, as well as open sources. Data sets can be incomplete due to limited access resulting from the high risk of dissemination of security-sensitive information.
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