Ukrenergo does not plan to introduce power outage schedules in Ukraine. There are several reasons for this.
Chairman of the Board of Ukrenergo Vladimir Kudritsky spoke about this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
“For now, I want to emphasize that we are not planning any shutdown schedules. And even the fact that they are updated by the Ministry of Energy does not mean that they will be applied, we just have to be ready,” he noted.
As Kudritsky noted, there are several reasons for this.
“These schedules are now being updated, including by regional power companies. Because shutdown schedules for specific consumers are drawn up locally, not by us, not by Ukrenergo. But the entire system of some kind of emergency restrictions on power supply will be better balanced, taking into account the experience of last year,” he assured.
In addition, Kudritsky says that compared to the fall of last year, now many more critical infrastructure facilities - hospitals, boiler houses, schools, kindergartens, pumping stations - are equipped with autonomous power sources than in the past.
“Therefore, in principle, the resilience of this critical infrastructure on the ground is now much higher. Last year, even large hospitals lacked generating capacity. Do you remember how many generators were later brought to Ukraine during the last missile and drone campaign. Now there is much more about 'critical infrastructure, fortunately, has these autonomous power sources,' the chairman of the board added.
He also noted that equipping critical infrastructure facilities with generators not only enhances the stability of the infrastructure, but also provides the necessary flexibility, “if you suddenly need to apply some schedules.”
Let us remind you that Energy Minister German Galushchenko believes that in Ukraine, power outages in winter will be applied only in case of significant damage due to possible Russian attacks on the energy system. He noted that our country’s energy system will be ready for winter and has all the necessary resources to get through the heating season without power outages.
However, he emphasized that such a scenario is possible in the absence of Russian attacks on the energy system.
According to the Minister of Infrastructure, Alexander Kubrakov, almost all thermal power plants that the Russians damaged with missile attacks have been restored in Ukraine.
