Ukraine is once again on the verge of power cuts. But there is a way out for the power system
8 May 2024 15:01
EXCLUSIVE
Another massive Russian strike on Ukrainian power facilities in six regions has complicated the situation in the power grid. Ukrenergo has warned of possible restrictions for electricity consumers across the country in the evening.
[Kommersant asked energy expert Gennadiy Ryabtsev what steps the state and society should take to deal with this problem in a strategic perspective.
The expert emphasises that at the moment, first of all, we are talking about possible restrictions on individual consumers, not about shutting down energy consumption across the country. Because everything will depend on the volume of energy consumption, which, according to him, is not always rational today. And this applies not only to household consumers but also to business entities.
“Therefore, it is very important to limit this energy consumption in the evening, primarily from 19 to 22 p.m. If it does not exceed the forecasts set by Ukrenergo, there will be no blackouts. But it is very difficult to hope for this. Because everyone thinks it’s normal. If you don’t have any schedules, if you consume as you want, you can continue to consume like that,”
– said the expert.
He believes that currently the only alternative to massive blackouts is rational energy consumption, i.e. avoiding the use of powerful electrical appliances or a large number of electrical appliances at the same time in the evening. However, from a strategic perspective, there is a way out. And it lies in the decentralisation of the energy sector.
“Attacks on thermal power plants that provide manoeuvring power will continue. Therefore, if we talk about the prospects, we need to launch two to three hundred small power plants instead of seven or eight large thermal power plants. And this should be done as soon as possible, at the level of local communities, districts, and settlements, because the situation is too complicated to neglect the risks,”
– says Gennadiy Ryabtsev.
If this is not done at the local level, he says, we will enter the heating season with the same consumption restrictions as in the winter of 2022-2023.
