Economy, Energy

Most of Ukraine’s electricity (48 percent in 1999) is supplied by steam-driven power plants that burn coal, oil, or natural gas. Only 10 percent of its electricity is supplied by hydroelectric power plants, most notably the Dniprohes hydroelectric station on the Dnieper near Zaporizhzhya, one of Europe’s largest. In the later 1990s Ukraine’s five nuclear power plants generated 43 percent of the country’s electricity. To supply its energy needs, Ukraine must import 80 percent of its natural gas and 90 percent of its oil. Lacking the funds to purchase what it needs, however, Ukraine has had to sharply curtail its consumption of these sources. The resulting energy shortage explains the government’s reluctance to shut down completely the hazardous Chernobyl’ nuclear power plant before 2000. Ukraine’s reliance on nuclear power is expected to increase, with the government planning to complete construction on two plants that were partially built during the Soviet period.