FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Melissa Brown, [email protected]

Washington, DC—USEA President & CEO Mark Menezes today issued the following statement ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day:

“On behalf of the United States Energy Association, I congratulate the people and Government of Ukraine on their Independence Day,” said Menezes. “For over 30 years, USEA has partnered with Ukraine’s energy institutions to strengthen energy security, modernize infrastructure, and build a resilient power sector.”

USEA’s long-standing work with Ukraine’s energy sector has played a vital role in protecting its grid security and national sovereignty. Following the 2014 invasion of Donbas and Crimea, USEA expanded its technical assistance to Ukraine’s national transmission system operator, Ukrenerho, through the Black Sea Regional Transmission System Planning Project. Throughout 2020 and 2021, as Russian forces gathered on the border, USEA staff and consultants worked side-by-side with Ukrenerho, traveling directly to frontline locations like Zaporizhia, Enerhodar, and Kryvyi Rih to gather the generation plant data needed to build high-fidelity grid models. As ENTSO-E conducted its feasibility study, USEA’s team actively updated network analyses and provided critical technical and moral support to Ukrainian leadership.

When the study concluded in December 2021 that synchronization was feasible but carried stability risks, USEA experts raced against time alongside partners to engineer technical solutions before the invasion began. USEA’s years of field data, modeling, and direct technical groundwork proved decisive when Ukrenerho heroically maintained grid frequency during three weeks of isolated wartime operations, enabling Ukraine to achieve historic emergency synchronization with the European power system on March 16, 2022.

Building on this 30-year partnership and ongoing work, USEA released a policy brief under its Energy Security and Prosperity for America and its Allies (ESP2A) initiative titled “From Crisis to Energy Security: A Six Point Agenda for Ukrainian/American Partnership.” The strategy addresses damage to Ukraine's centralized grid by calling for expanded U.S. LNG supplies, turbines, batteries, distributed generation, and Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs). It also prioritizes stronger regional interconnections, aligned market rules for U.S. trade, and American cybersecurity tools to protect digital operations.

“By deploying American LNG, advanced power systems, and cyber defense tools, we can help Ukraine secure its energy independence and cement the United States as Europe’s key energy partner,” said Will Polen, Senior Director at USEA. “USEA remains fully committed to supporting Ukraine’s power sector and its secure energy future.”