Ukraine launches monthly EU electricity transmission auctions: First tenders reveal huge market interest

Ukraine took another significant step towards integration into the European electricity market in December 2025. Monthly cross-border transmission capacity auctions were launched on its borders with Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. The first auctions, for deliveries in January 2026, have already shown enormous interest in importing electricity from the European Union, with demand several times higher than supply, reports Montel News.

The launch of monthly auctions on 15 December 2025 is the result of several years of cooperation between the transmission system operators of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, the European association ENTSO-E and the Joint Allocation Office (JAO). In 2024 and 2025, the long-term auction rules for the EU’s external borders were updated, and their approval by national regulators made it possible to launch the new type of auction. Poland, by contrast, has not joined the monthly auction system. The Polish transmission system operator PSE did not obtain the necessary approval from its national regulator.

According to Ukrainian transmission system operator Ukrenergo, demand in the January auctions exceeded available capacity several times over. At the Hungarian border, 460 MW was allocated at a maximum price of 13.4 euros per MW, while demand reached 4 625 MW. Slovakia and Romania each allocated 172 MW, with prices rising to as much as 16 euros per MW at the Slovak border and 10.82 euros per MW at the Romanian border.

According to electricity market analyst Daria Orlova of ExPro Consulting, the shift to monthly auctions represents a major structural change for the Ukrainian energy market.

"Importers can plan further ahead and optimise their portfolios, rather than relying on short-term capacity products," Orlova says. In her view, this could lead not only to greater predictability of imports but also to lower final prices.

"With massive Russian attacks on our energy system, having reliable electricity imports for every coming month is absolutely crucial for us," said Ukrenergo board chairman Vitaliy Zaychenko. Ukraine sees monthly auctions as a transitional step, he said, with annual auctions also planned for the future.

Electricity imports from the EU are playing a crucial role for Ukraine this winter. They are helping to mitigate the impact of outages caused by repeated Russian attacks on power generation sources and transmission infrastructure. Imports cannot cover the entire shortfall, partly because damaged substations in the western and central parts of the country are limiting electricity transmission to the east, but they remain one of the power system’s main stabilising factors.

Competition in the auctions was strong, with an estimated 20 to 30 or more companies participating at each border. More than 40 companies now import electricity from the EU to Ukraine each month. In November, imports rose roughly 2.5-fold year on year to approximately 415 GWh, amid repeated blackouts during the holiday period.

For Ukraine, this means not only better prospects for forecasting prices, but also the opportunity to reduce electricity import costs over the long term. More broadly, it is another step towards deeper integration of the Ukrainian and European energy markets and greater resilience across the interconnected power system.