Businesses are forced to cut production, revise work schedules, and seek funds for autonomous generation, while small businesses find themselves in the most vulnerable position.
The energy crisis of autumn 2025 – winter 2026 had a very strong impact on Ukrainian enterprises. And this impact was uneven depending on the sphere in which a large private enterprise or small business operates, reports UNN with reference to the discussion "How do shelling of the energy system affect business operations?", organized by the Center for Economic Strategy (CES).
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Natalia Kolesnichenko, Senior Economist at CES, citing statistics, noted: 80% of companies surveyed by the European Business Association stated that they felt this impact. Only 20% said they did not feel it. Moreover, almost half of the companies surveyed by the Institute for Economic Research also reported in January that they experienced interruptions in electricity, water, and heating supplies.
Most companies noted that what is happening significantly affects their production costs, because they are forced to buy electricity at a higher price. This applies to imported electricity, which has become more expensive due to the increase, as well as domestic electricity produced in Ukraine, which is also becoming more expensive for enterprises due to high demand.
If we compare the price indicators for the current date in February, compared to, say, November, electricity prices have increased by 60%.
This is a very rapid growth. And large enterprises, for example, the metallurgical complex, additionally note technological risks, due to the fact that unexpected interruptions in energy supply can severely interrupt the technological process, and this will lead to additional losses in order to return to a normal situation.
Many of these enterprises simply reduced their production to minimize risk. A considerable number of productions changed their operating modes, adapting to the centralized energy supply mode they receive from "Ukrenergo".
Companies note that it is not always the lack of light that forces them to reduce production; demand also plays a role. After all, it decreases in all subsequent stages of consumption.
Sole proprietors are currently in the most difficult situation. After all, the cost of electricity from a generator and other autonomous means is more expensive than what the enterprise receives from the grid.
In order to develop independent generation, enterprises note that they desperately need funding. In particular, the project launched by the government, energy support for sole proprietors, has already seen more than 14,000 enterprises apply for this support and receive 144 million hryvnias.
The largest number of applications for state aid came from representatives of the restaurant business, as well as retail trade, because this project specifically allows for the purchase of generators.
But even with state support, the restaurant business feels the pressure of unfavorable circumstances. Many establishments are reviewing their menus to withstand outages. The assortment has to be narrowed, as not all products can remain fresh for long when refrigerators are not working.
Moreover, even those enterprises that receive imported electricity and should not be subject to disconnections also suffer when emergency disconnections are introduced, because in such cases, they are also switched off.