Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck thanked companies for donations in kind to Ukraine. “In view of the brutal attacks on civil infrastructure, we have asked companies to donate technical goods such as transformers for Ukraine,” said the Greens politician to the German Press Agency in Berlin. “And they did that on a large scale.”
According to Habeck, around 2,300 technical goods were delivered to the Ukraine with the help of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), including almost 30 transformers. “In the last few weeks, German companies have offered more than 60 transformers for donation, including several large ones.”
Others would be produced, which the federal government would then buy from the companies in order to deliver them to the Ukraine. “It’s exemplary how German energy supply companies and producers are moving along here. I would also like to say thank you for that,” said Habeck.
Transformers play an important role in the power grid. With alternating current, they adjust the voltage between different areas in the network. Electricity is transported over longer distances at a higher voltage, but is then regulated down to a lower voltage before it flows out of the socket at the consumer’s home.
More donations and support
In addition to the donations, there is also an aid fund from the European Energy Community to support Ukraine with technical goods. The European Energy Community is an international organization in which the European Union and a number of Eastern and Southern European countries work together on energy issues. The federal government supports the energy aid fund for Ukraine with 130 million euros, said Habeck.
“The way it works is that the Ukrainian utility companies get in touch and say, ‘We have a problem,'” said Habeck. The Energy Community and the Ukrainian Energy Ministry checked the eligibility and tendered the required goods, the Economy Ministry said. The money then goes to those suppliers who were awarded the contract for transformers or the delivery of other goods to Ukraine.
“This is a material contribution that should not be disregarded for Ukraine in the war that Russia is waging against the country’s infrastructure,” said Habeck, referring to both the goods donated and the goods financed through the aid fund.
