Power outages are back in Ukraine: Ukrenergo explains the reasons
8 April 17:35
This week, rolling blackouts have once again become a reality for the same reason as in the winter—a power shortage in the grid caused by the effects of Russian shelling. This was reported by Ukrenergo, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Today, April 8, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., hourly power outage schedules will be implemented in all regions of Ukraine,” the company stated.
However, as the company noted, compared to the situation during the cold season, the current outages have their own specific characteristics:
- the heating season has already ended, but temperature fluctuations can be quite significant, prompting consumers to use electric heaters. This places a substantial additional load on the power grid;
- in the spring, power units at nuclear power plants begin to be shut down for scheduled maintenance. The maintenance schedule depends on the nuclear fuel burn-up cycle and is determined in advance. Consequently, the available domestic generation capacity in the power grid decreases;
- After the heating season ends, power generation at CHP plants drops significantly. Only a small portion of them are capable of generating electricity independently—without the technological cycle of heating water in centralized heating systems;
- The volume of electricity imports in the spring is also significantly lower than in winter. This is due to the price situation in the markets of Ukraine and neighboring EU countries;
- The efficiency of solar power plants increases significantly in the spring. Consequently, during clear weather in the daytime, the power grid may experience a surplus of capacity, while in the morning and evening and on cloudy days (during peak consumption hours and periods of low solar power plant efficiency), a deficit persists, necessitating blackouts;
- Russia continues to attack energy infrastructure, damaging both generation facilities and electricity transmission and distribution networks.
“Given all of the above, the need to implement load-shedding measures, unfortunately, arises periodically. To keep the duration of forced power outages as short as possible, please follow the advice of energy experts,” Ukrenergo urges.
The company also asks consumers to use electricity rationally, taking into account recommendations regarding peak usage times and restrictions on the use of high-power electrical appliances.
