Ukraine may return to blackouts due to hot weather next week

Energy of Ukraine. Illustrative photo

Next week, Ukraine may return to the use of electricity blackout schedules due to hot weather and, as a result, an increase in its consumption.

Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Svitlana Hrynchuk reported this on the air of the telethon «Edyni Novyny», writes «Interfax-Ukraine».

The deputy noted that starting this weekend, weather forecasters predict heat, so a sharp increase in electricity consumption is expected.

«What we will observe next week (temperature rise) may lead to the fact that energy companies will have to apply blackout schedules,» Svitlana Hrynchuk said on the air.

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Also, a repair campaign and restoration of equipment damaged as a result of enemy attacks is underway at energy facilities throughout the country.

Energy experts urge consumers to use electricity sparingly, not to turn on powerful electrical appliances in the morning and evening hours of peak load, not to use air conditioners without urgent need.

Shelling of the energy sector in the spring of 2024

Russia carried out the first massive shelling of energy infrastructure facilities this year on March 22. The Russian army attacked Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava Oblast, Vinnytsia Oblast, Lviv Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Odesa, and other regions of Ukraine.

The biggest was the attack on the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) in Zaporizhzhia. This is one of the largest and most powerful hydraulic structures in Ukraine. A rocket attack on the Dnipro HPP resulted in damage to two stations and a dam that are part of its structure.

Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Research Center, says that by winter, Ukraine needs to restore at least 25-30% of the damaged heat generation: «We need to fully involve imports. Also, before winter, we need to restore as much as possible from coal generation, from hydro generation, and build facilities in gas generation as much as possible.»

At the same time, according to the Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko, it is impractical to make any predictions about the difficulty of the next winter for Ukraine's energy industry. In his opinion, now no one will be able to say with which generation Ukraine will end up in the winter: «Actually, everything looks comforting, because the system, despite the Russian strikes, is intact.»

The BBC predicts that Ukrainians can spend up to 20 hours a day without electricity or heating in winter.

In addition, on the night of June 22, the Russians launched missile attacks on critical infrastructure facilities in various regions of Ukraine. As a result of anti-aircraft combat, 25 air targets were shot down, but energy facilities in Zaporizhzhia and Lviv regions were still damaged. Also, as a result of an enemy attack on one of the objects, two energy workers were injured.