Ukraine struggles to restore power amid blackouts that last for hours and months
Shoppers browse items at a market in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo: Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Across Ukraine, electrical engineers are waging their daily battle to restore power to homes and public buildings following Russian missile and drone attacks, but they are also facing much longer outages.
In the far north of Ukraine, residents of Tsirkuny in the Kharkiv region have electricity for the first time since the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February. According to the regional power company, 100 consumers in the town have had power again.
“As a consequence of the hostilities, the damage to power grids and equipment is enormous,” the company stated. “The transformer substations, poles and cables are damaged. The work is also complicated by the large amount of demining work in the territory. We have already replaced two power transformers, which has allowed us to supply the first consumers. We must replace another 10 transformers”.
Elsewhere more recent damage is being addressed.
Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Military Administration of the Zaporizhzhiayia region, stated at a briefing that the situation in the region is currently difficult.
“Our electrical engineers have managed to restore basic vital systems. People have hot radiators, water supply, sewage system works. Electricity is supplied as planned,” Starukh said.
“Critical issues have been resolved, except for the destroyed infrastructure, which takes time to restore. Equipment needs to be purchased and installed, it will take some time,” Starukh said.
The power shortage is compounded by a lack of nuclear generation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, where all six units are out of service. “They’re stuck partly cold and partly hot,” Starukh explained.
The plant has been occupied by the Russians since the beginning of March. Russian officials have repeatedly stated plans to connect the plant to the Russian grid through Crimea.
Earlier this Monday, the state power company Ukrenergo stated that “all through the night, enemy UAVs have been trying to penetrate power facilities across the country.”
Several facilities had been hit, he said, with the most difficult situations in the central, eastern and Dnipro regions.