Odesa is almost without electricity: why the blackouts last for several days and what can change the situation
15 December 19:15
In Odesa, due to damage to the energy infrastructure as a result of massive Russian missile and drone attacks, the city is almost completely without electricity.
Expert Stanislav Ignatiev in a commentary
“The situation in Odesa is extremely difficult. Odesa is almost without power. I am in constant contact with Kiper and the former mayor, who also keeps his finger on the pulse. The situation in Odesa is very difficult, three substations have been knocked out – seven of them, even the one that was a great Ukrenergo substation, they took it out, so Odesa is almost without power,” Ignatiev said.
Causes of long power outages
Gennadiy Ryabtsev, energy expert, in a commentary
In addition, constant attacks on generation facilities inside the city and increased equipment failure due to frequent outages complicate the restoration.
Experts named the conditions under which the situation may change
- Improved: with stable weather and an average daily temperature of about 5 °C. Solar generation helps reduce the duration of outages.
- Deteriorate: new RF strikes or severe weather conditions can significantly extend the periods without power.
Duration of restoration work
Experts estimate that it may take several days to restore power to all customers, probably by the end of this week. The damage was predictable, and the partial blackout was managed to avoid a large-scale blackout.
Mr. Ryabtsev emphasized that the sunnier the weather, the shorter the periods without power.
“Now, due to the constant switching off and on of different zones, different queues, the equipment is increasingly failing because it is simply not designed to handle such frequent changes in capacity. This also causes accidents, which is why it is very difficult to reduce the duration of shutdown from the current three or four stages to at least two. But there are prospects, there are no apocalyptic scenarios that Russia will strike again and everything will fall apart. That is, my colleagues and I assess the likelihood of such a scenario as low,” emphasized Gennadiy Ryabtsev.
What is known about the shelling of Odesa
On the night of Saturday, December 13, the Russian Federation launched a massive attack on the south of Ukraine. The enemy used various types of missiles and attack drones.
According to the Air Force, Russia launched a massive attack on southern Ukraine at night. At the beginning of the new day, attack drones were flying in the direction of Odesa, after which explosions were heard in the city around 00:20.
Later, a missile threat was declared for a number of regions: Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from the Black Sea and from the Kherson region, heading for Odesa, Mykolaiv, and settlements in Odesa region. Explosions were also heard in Dnipro.
In addition, ballistic missiles were launched in the direction of Odesa around 01:30. During the night, Russia took off three times with MiG-31Ks, and after the second takeoff, the Air Force reported the launch of Kinzhal ballistic missiles. After that, explosions occurred in Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi, and Podilsk in Odesa region.
In addition, on the night of December 13, Russian troops attacked critical and industrial infrastructure in Mykolaiv region. The enemy attacked the region with missiles and drones.
As a result of the attack, settlements in Bashtanka and Mykolaiv districts were left without electricity.
In Mykolaiv, due to power outages, public transportation was limited: only autonomous trolleybuses were running, and trams and Dnipro trolleybuses were temporarily suspended. Also, the distribution of purified water by electric vehicles was suspended.
