Power outages in winter: what Ukrainians should expect
2 December 17:04
Power outages will continue in Ukraine throughout the winter, but their duration depends on weather conditions and the speed of restoration of the power system. This was stated by Oleksandr Kharchenko, Director of the Energy Research Center, in an interview with OBOZ, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
According to him, the time of blackouts may increase to 12-16 hours a day. But this is only in case of severe weather conditions or new attacks. However, if the power grids are successfully restored, outages will be possible only for 2-4 hours a day.
“If the power grids are successfully restored, short-term outages are possible, lasting 2-4 hours a day. However, if weather conditions worsen or new attacks occur, this time may increase to 12-16 hours a day,” Kharchenko said.
He also said that the risk of a large-scale blackout remains low, but experts predict that the restoration of the power system will take 3 to 4 weeks.
“I see no reason to think that a national cascading accident is possible,” added the director of the Energy Research Center.
What is the current situation with the energy sector in Ukraine?
According to Ukrenergo, as of 6:00 a.m. on December 2, the level of electricity consumption was 6% higher than at the same time on the previous business day, Friday, November 29. This is due to fewer restrictive measures being applied.
The Ukrainian power grid is still recovering from eleven massive Russian attacks and still faces a significant power shortage. Emergency repairs are underway at power facilities. Hourly power cuts for household consumers and power limitation schedules for industry and business are currently being enforced in all regions.
