Lviv postpones the start of the heating season – which regions are also postponing heat supply
10 October 16:20
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said that the start of the heating season in the city is postponed for several weeks due to Russian shelling of energy infrastructure, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to him, the authorities want to wait until the situation stabilizes so that “it will be warm in winter” and urge citizens to prepare alternative sources of heat.
On October 11, the city will start a test mode: they will check the operation of all systems, including traffic lights, which will be switched to backup power for the first time simultaneously throughout Lviv.
Why it is important
Russia’s massive strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities have already caused blackouts. DTEK’s thermal power plants have been hit.
The authorities are preparing for possible new attacks and are trying to ensure the resilience of the infrastructure in the face of a blackout risk.
Lviv’s response
Postponing the season – the city is waiting a few weeks before launching the system.
Testing of resources – checking the mechanisms and responsiveness.
Backup power – traffic lights are switched to alternative sources.
Anappeal to residents – the authorities ask Lviv residents to help their neighbors and provide themselves with autonomous heat.
Other cities postponing the heating season
Lviv is not the only city that has to adjust the start date of the heating season.
Due to the consequences of Russian attacks, the authorities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and a number of communities in Sumy and Chernihiv regions have also announced the postponement of the heating season or partial restrictions.
In most cases, the decision was motivated by the instability of the power system and the risk of repeated attacks.
In addition, energy market analysts expect new massive attacks on critical infrastructure in the fall and winter.
The authorities are preparing scenarios to minimize the consequences: deploying heating stations, installing mobile boilers and generators, and testing backup power systems.
How effective they will be will depend on the scale of the attacks and the speed of energy recovery.
Ukraine already has experience of going through the winter under fire: in 2022-2023, Russian strikes on the power grid caused long power and heat outages. Back then, the country managed to survive thanks to quick repairs of the networks, international support, and community mobilization.
This year, the situation is more complicated because the Russians are attacking the facilities more targeted and systematically.
