U.S. Energy Secretary “amazed” at pace of infrastructure restoration in Ukraine following Russian strikes

This was stated by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who spoke in an interview with the Voice of America, Ukrinform reports.

"I do know that the president — President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy — has really expressed a desire to have a different grid. A grid that is distributed, that has clean energy, but also that isn't so centralized so that it becomes a target. And that is very encouraging.(...) Where we are in the process now of sending the third tranche of equipment to Ukraine so that they can replace what has been damaged. But ultimately in the long term, what we need to do is to fulfill the president's goals to get a distributed electric grid so that if one section is damaged, it doesn't bring down a whole region," said Granholm.

The U.S. is expected to send the third tranche of aid in early March to restore power grids that Russia continues to target.

"What’s amazed us is how quickly the Ukrainians have been able to incorporate what we’re sending so that they can get things up and running again. It is really breathtaking – the kind of resilience and quick turnaround that has happened with those who are working on the grid. And we will continue to help in any way we can," the minister said.

She emphasized that she is personally in contact with the Minister of Energy of Ukraine, German Galushchenko, and that she feels willingness on Ukraine’s part for constant cooperation and implementation of relevant plans.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is creating roadmaps for countries that have expressed interest in transitioning to 100 percent renewable, 100 percent clean, carbon-free energy, she said, noting that the U.S. wants to work with Ukraine, which has expressed its readiness to this end.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on February 23, a critical situation with centralized heating supplies developed in Kherson due to Russian shelling. On February 24, the Ministry of Energy reported that as a result of shelling of the Kherson thermal power station, critical equipment and the heating network were damaged.

On February 27, the Kherson CHPP resumed operation.