Power cuts will happen even without shelling: expert explains
22 October 2024 14:24
ВІДЕО
Regardless of whether critical infrastructure is shelled, power outages are inevitable. This was stated by Victoria Voitsitska, Director of Energy Advocacy at the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV), on the air of the Kyiv24 TV channel, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Voitsitska also stressed the importance of preparing for the heating season.
“Solving the issue of heat supply and providing heat to homes can relieve the tension or the additional load that our energy system is bearing because people are simply switching on electrical appliances to heat their homes. So the question is, when will the heating season start?” said Voitsitska.
She expressed concern that the volumes of gas in storage facilities may not be sufficient to ensure a stable winter.
“The second question is whether we are ready for the heating season, whether we have enough gas in the storage facilities to get us through this winter. And this is where I am concerned about the indicators we see in terms of the amount of gas we have in storage. And it seems that Naftogaz is not coping with the task to ensure that we have enough gas to get us through this season,” Voitsitska said.
According to the expert, regardless of the presence or absence of attacks on the infrastructure, power cuts will continue to occur in Ukraine.
“If there is no shelling, should we expect blackout schedules? Yes, we should expect blackout schedules even in the absence of shelling, because different experts estimate differently the amount of capacity shortage to generate enough heat, from 3 to 5 gigawatts, which is comparable to half of the Zaporizhzhya NPP,” explained Voitsitska.
The situation in the Ukrainian energy sector
on 29 March 2024, Russia resumed its attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector, carrying out the most massive shelling in the entire period of the full-scale war. In particular, DniproHES and other Ukrainian energy facilities were hit. Since then, Russia has been regularly shelling Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
For example, the Russians destroyed the Trypillia and Zmiiv thermal power plants, causing Centrenergo to lose 100% of its generation. Also, 5 of DTEK’s 6 thermal power plants were severely damaged.
After that, blackouts began again in Ukraine, Ukrenergo introduced blackout schedules and the government raised electricity tariffs by 60% at once.
At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to build two new units at the Khmelnytsky N PP and has already received the approval of the relevant parliamentary committee. The Razumkov Centre has criticised these plans, but some experts believe that only traitors or scoundrels are against the construction of nuclear power plants today.
Russia launched another massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector on 26 August. This time, they attacked the distribution and power supply systems, and also hit the Kyiv hydroelectric power station.
Some experts believe that the blackouts could last until spring. The National Security and Defence Council’s Disinformation Countermeasures Centre recently voiced a worst-case scenario that envisages blackouts of up to 20 hours a day.
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