By KYIV. Jan 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Decreasing outdoor temperatures have led to an increase in consumption and the number of accidents, emergency restrictions and a slight overschedule in some areas of Kyiv, said Serhiy Kovalenko, the CEO of YASNO energy supply company.
"On January 1-2, it was +11°C outside. Now it’s -7°C. We know that every -5°C is +200 MW, which means that today we need more MW for Kyiv. And you never know what kind of megawatt will lead to the transition to emergency shutdowns," he wrote on Facebook, explaining why there were no blackouts on New Year’s Eve, and now they have returned.
Kovalenko stressed that neither generation nor grids are now in a position to work without restrictions: there is a significant shortage of generation in the country, each region receives significant restrictions.
He recalled that now one unit at Rivne NPP is undergoing overhaul.
The YASNO CEO also added that in addition to the warm weather, the lack of blackouts on New Year’s Eve was the result of power workers "who were literally keeping temporary circuits running" and shutting down a number of production facilities across the country, causing more electricity to go to the population.
"Now we must keep a balance between the population and business, because without the work of the latter, the economy will stop," Kovalenko explained.
In early December, the head of Yasno indicated that Kyiv’s estimated electricity demand was 1,500 MW, while then the limit was about 1,000 MW.
According to him, after the blackout on November 23, Kyiv was given a limit of 430 MW, and on November 24 and 25 – 690 MW each.
