85% of consumers without electricity: Ukraine experienced its most difficult energy week since 2022
26 January 10:12
For the Ukrainian energy sector, last week was one of the most difficult since the large-scale blackout of 2022.
This was reported by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to her, the situation became significantly more complicated after two combined attacks on January 20 and 23, which took place against the backdrop of severe frosts and damage from previous shelling.
“This week has been one of the most difficult for the Ukrainian energy sector since the blackout of 2022. After two combined attacks on January 20 and 23, against the backdrop of severe frosts and damage from previous shelling, the power system was subjected to an extraordinary load,” the head of government said.
Svyrydenko reported that after the first attack, up to 85% of consumers were left without power. By the end of the week, about 60% of subscribers had their power restored. More than 180 teams of power engineers, utility workers, and railway workers are working to restore power. Also, divers from the State Emergency Service worked in icy water throughout the week to repair the pipes of one of the thermal power plants.
According to the prime minister, the government has maximized electricity imports and created conditions for the rapid connection of distributed generation.
“The Ministry of Economy is ready to process all requests from businesses on the Pulse platform regarding the urgent connection of cogeneration plants,” Svyrydenko emphasized.
The Cabinet of Ministers has also expanded the network of Points of Resilience. These support points can operate continuously for up to 48 hours. In total, there are more than 10,600 such points operating across the country, which were used by more than 130,000 people in a week. In residential areas without gas heating, hot food points are also operating.
According to the prime minister, special attention is being paid to people with limited mobility.
“The Ministry of Social Policy is processing requests from such citizens by calling 112 as a matter of priority. Regular visits have been organized to provide assistance in the absence of heat in homes. The State Emergency Service has set up additional aid stations with beds,” she said.
Svyrydenko added that UAH 2.56 billion from the reserve fund of the budget has been allocated for mobile power generation for regions with critical needs — Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv. Additional support is provided to communities and energy companies through the hub at the Ministry of Energy and the State Emergency Service.
In addition, following the results of the Energy Ramstein meeting, G7 partners will soon transfer more than 6,000 units of large energy equipment to Ukraine for operational repairs, as well as make additional contributions to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund.
