The US Agency for International Development is launching a new program to help rebuild Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and integrate the country into the European energy grid. To support the effort, USAID recently awarded a five-year, $439 million single-award contract to California-based Tetra Tech Inc. to provide strategic procurement and technical assistance to improve “resilience , reliability, affordability and safety” of Ukraine’s electricity, natural gas and district heating sectors.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, its armed forces have “systematically attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure” affecting millions of people, Isobel Coleman, USAID’s deputy administrator, said in a video that agency published online.
“In response, brave repair and construction workers have risen to fix Ukraine’s energy grid at great risk to their own lives, and the United States has provided more than $1 billion in “assistance to replace and restore the energy grid, and there’s more to come,” Coleman said.
USAID’s new Securing Power, Advancing Resilience and Connectivity (SPARC) program builds on assistance the agency has already provided to Ukraine to help with both immediate and long-term energy needs, according to a spokesperson. USAID declined to identify specific projects that will be included in the contract, citing the “sensitive” nature of the work. They also declined to say how workers can be protected from attacks, but said in a statement that “the safety of our staff, partners and beneficiaries is a primary concern.”
USAID has initially planned to provide $190 million for the Tetra Tech contract, with future funding subject to availability.
Tetra Tech said in a statement that it would support Ukraine’s efforts to meet the requirements for integration with the European Union. Crown Agents, a non-profit development agency based in the United Kingdom, also announced that it had subcontracted with Tetra Tech to acquire equipment to address priorities identified by the Ukrainian government.
Drones and missiles
On March 22, USAID said Russia launched its largest attack yet on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, highlighting the need for such assistance. That attack included more than 60 explosive drones and 90 missiles against power plants and other civilian infrastructure, the Associated Press reported. DTEK Group, Ukraine’s largest energy company, said the attacks temporarily knocked out half of its available generation capacity. Another attack a week later with 60 drones and 39 missiles severely damaged five of DTEK’s six operating power plants.
At the time, DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said in a statement that the country needs emergency supplies and long-term assistance to build distributed generation such as wind farms that are less vulnerable, as well as stronger air defenses.
Russia has continued to target Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure ever since. Another missile and drone attack on May 8 damaged three of DTEK’s thermal plants, according to the company. Ukraine’s energy ministry says damage to the country’s power system has totaled $11.5 billion.
USAID has so far delivered more than 4,200 generators, 55 transformers, 91 cogeneration units, 125 km of pipelines, 74 excavators plus emergency shelters, mobile boilers and other supplies to Ukraine, according to Coleman. Through SPARC, the agency plans to support reforms, regulations and other preparations to further integrate Ukraine’s energy system with Europe’s and attract more private sector investment in sustainable energy to the country.
“What we do know is that to build a truly resilient energy sector, that sector must integrate with its European neighbors,” Coleman said.
