Power outages in Ukraine: when to expect a blackout
12 November 16:45
A blackout in Ukraine is possible if Russian missile strikes lead to the shutdown of two nuclear power plants at once. This was stated by Yuriy Korolchuk, co-founder of the Institute for Energy Strategies, in an interview with Glavred, [Komersant] reports.
According to the expert, if such missile attacks occur, it will technically stop the operation of nuclear power plants. “Even if a couple of missiles are launched into the cooling tower, which will conditionally take away a piece of concrete, the plant will already be shut down until all the circumstances and the extent of damage are clarified. And this will immediately cause blackouts.
“If this concerns two NPPs, then a blackout is possible. On the other hand, even if such strikes are inflicted, theoretically and practically, repairs may take a week or two. Therefore, consider that during this time everyone will live as best they can,” Korolchuk said.
He added that TPPs will remain where it is possible to make “islands” and everything can work. But without NPPs, it will be difficult to provide electricity to all consumers.
“Then the electricity will be supplied according to strict schedules, but first of all, it will be provided to important infrastructure facilities. In fact, it will be a collapse,” summarized the co-founder of the Institute for Energy Strategies.
It should be noted that Ukraine is currently supplied with electricity by
- three nuclear power plants (Rivne, South Ukrainian and Khmelnytsky) out of the existing four (Zaporizhzhya NPP is occupied) provide about 55% of generation;
- six large thermal power plants out of 12 existing ones and 40 CHPPs (many of them damaged by missile and drone attacks by the occupiers) produce 25% of the total electricity generation;
- 9 HPPs and PSPs provide 10% of energy supply;
- another 10% of electricity is generated from renewable sources (solar, wind).
