The power outages in Ukraine are not caused by a deficit of electricity, but by damage to transmission and distribution facilities after Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure. This was stated by energy expert Gennady Ryabtsev to UNIAN. According to him, there is enough production in the country, and electricity is even exported during the daytime.
Hourly power outage schedules continue in Poltava and Cherkasy regions. Emergency outages have been introduced in Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, as well as in Kiev and the Kiev region.
The network is damaged, not the production
“Electric energy is there, but it cannot be distributed among consumers“, says Ryabtsev. According to him, the reasons are different in different regions, but the common one is the restoration of facilities affected by attacks on the energy system.
While repairs are underway, the power supply is limited. The expert points out that the main equipment is protected, but the open facilities cannot be secured with engineering and technical means and it is they who were damaged.
If there are no new damages, the restoration may take more than a few days. The duration depends on the severity of the damage and the speed with which individual sections will be restored to service.
Schedules in Kiev are emergency
Ryabtsev explains that the constant revision of schedules in Kiev is related to the emergency nature of the outages. In the event of a power shortage, “Ukrenergo“ forecasts consumption for the next day and orders stabilization schedules. In the current situation, however, the restrictions depend on the progress of repairs, and not on a preliminary shortage of production.
“The schedules are a reflection of the pace of work on the damaged sites“, the expert says. He also rejects the claim that the outages indicate failed preparations for the winter. According to him, the two topics are not related, and new outages may occur after each subsequent combined attack on the energy infrastructure.
The Left Bank of Kiev Remains the Riskiest
Ryabtsev sees the most serious risk for the Left Bank of Kiev. If TPP-5, TPP-6 and TPP-4 are taken out of service, there will be a permanent electricity deficit there. According to him, the capacity of TPP-5 and TPP-6 exceeds one gigawatt and cannot be quickly replaced with distributed generation.
The expert emphasizes that the current emergency outages do not mean the beginning of a seasonal winter shortage and should not prevent the timely start of the heating season.
Sources: unian.net