By KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The shortage of electricity, which is observed in the power system due to its damage as a result of shelling by the Russian aggressor, will last until the end of March-mid-April, therefore, Ukraine will pass an autumn-winter period with schedules for limiting consumption, Dmytro Sakharuk, Executive Director of DTEK, said.
"Unfortunately, until the end of March, there will not be enough generation, even if everything is repaired. Therefore, we will live in such schedules [of limited consumption] until the end of the autumn-winter period, which is explained by high demand for electricity and the limited possibilities of its generation," Sakharuk said on the air of Suspilne.News on Wednesday.
He clarified that usually in early or mid-April there is a significant decrease in consumption, and then generation will be balanced with demand. At the same time, he stressed that all forecasts can be relevant in the absence of new significant damage to the power system.
Assessing the pace of recovery of generating and distribution facilities after the last attack on December 5, DTEK’s top manager noted that it would take another week or ten days to reach the level of supply that was before this shelling.
However, he drew attention to the fact that the situation is different in different regions.
"Everyone is trying to meet the outage schedules, but, unfortunately, this is not possible in all regions. Emergency outages are added to planned ones in order to balance supply and demand in a particular region. There are also outages due to local accidents due to rid congestion, and also due to weather conditions, leading, for example, to icing of lines," Sakharuk said.
According to him, the situation is aggravated by peak loads on the grid, when people simultaneously try to use many devices at once after a power outage.
"Therefore, point local overloads occur," the power engineer explained.
In his opinion, emergency outages can be dealt with only by increasing generation and the ability to transmit it.
Explaining the essence of preparations for new enemy shelling, which, in his opinion, should be absolutely expected, Sakharuk noted that there are three components to this issue.
"Firstly, this is improving the quality of air defense, which needs to be worked on every minute. Secondly, this is the physical protection of power facilities, for example, using concrete blocks, and this is not the first time that equipment protected by simple civilian means has been saved. Thirdly, it is the ability to restore the power system after damage as soon as possible," Sakharuk explained.
Regarding the situation with the power supply of the de-occupied part of Kherson region, he said that about 30 settlements in the north of the region were already powered, not counting Kherson, which was powered last week.
"The Kherson thermal power plant has started working, which is good. Most of the consumers in the regional center already have electricity, and heat will soon be supplied. But the rushists are pestering them with shelling from the left bank, and this complicates the situation," DTEK’s top manager said.
According to his forecast, in the near future Beryslav and nearby territories, where about 50 DTEK power engineers work, will be powered.
