Ukraine experiencing severe power generation deficit

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Jan 2023 23:20
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As a result of Russian strikes on Saturday, a number of thermal power plants were shut down due to serious damage.

Picture of Ukrainian damaged thermal power generation facility in the Kiev region during January 14th, 2023 Russian strikes . via Twitter (source: Twitter)

The head of Ukrainian utility YASNO (D.Solutions), Sergey Kovalenko, said on Sunday that Ukraine's power grid was suffering from a massive power deficit following Russia's missile strikes on Saturday which targeted crucial infrastructure all across the nation.

"The generation deficit in the power system after the attack is huge. A number of thermal power plants are out of operation due to serious damage... It is still unknown how much time the repairs will take," Kovalenko said on social media.

Kovalenko added that the impact of the damage was so severe that the Ukrainian national energy company Ukrenergo cut consumption volumes throughout the country, including in the Kiev region.

On Saturday morning, air warnings have been issued all across Ukraine.

Explosions were reported in several locations including Odessa, Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkov, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lvov, Volyn, and other regions.

While the regions of Kiev, Vinnytsia, and Cherkasy implemented emergency blackouts, Kharkov was hit by a total power blackout following an explosion.

According to Ukrainian utility DTEK, two thermal power plants were damaged in the attacks. One of them had been shut down.

The head of the Ukrainian Energy Ministry, German Galushchenko, announced that energy facilities in five regions of Ukraine and the Kiev-controlled part of Zaporozhye Region had been hit at once.

The official also said that there were blackouts in most regions and that "the next few days in the energy sector will be difficult."