“The situation is extremely critical.” A difficult winter awaits Ukrainians
In the near future, the country will face problems in electricity production
October 10Russia’s massive missile and drone attacks since of Ukraine destroyed 30% of its civil infrastructure. Power stations, transformer networks and other facilities were targeted and hit.
of Ukraine Minister of Communications and Territorial Development Oleksey Chernyshov on October 13, he said that “as soon as the average daily temperature is below 8º C for three days”, heating will be provided normally. The government has urged citizens to help stabilize supply by minimizing electricity use.
In some areas, residents have been warned that there may be scheduled power outages. Work is underway to remove the debris. Ukraine Europe It has temporarily suspended the export of electricity to the European Union (EU).
“Practically, thermal power plants in every region of the country have been damaged. High-voltage lines and distribution networks were also seriously damaged. – of Ukraine former Minister of Fuel and Power Ivan Plachkov He said in an interview for the “Nastoyasheye Vremya” project of Radio Liberty together with the Voice of America.
“The situation is extremely critical,” – said Plachkov, who worked in the energy sector for 50 years of his career.
According to him, despite this, the electricity network as a whole is functioning and will be fully restored in the coming weeks: “Distribution networks are easier to repair. Brigades are at work”.
But he added that restoring high-voltage transformers is a bigger problem. Because their production takes up to six months and there are very few manufacturers in the world.
“Most of our transformers come from the Zaporozhye Transformer Plant. Now we are working on the spare electricity. However, its volume is also limited. We are talking about really expensive equipment, tens, hundreds of millions of hryvnias (hundreds of thousands or millions dollars) is going. We hope to receive help from our partners in Eastern Europe… Poland, Hungary, Romania,” – says the former minister.
In the near future, the country will face problems in electricity production.
“Therefore, there will be restrictions on electricity consumption. “We need to collect and store as much energy as possible to keep the grid running.” – Plachkov emphasizes.
As winter approaches, problems with heating will increase. On October 11, the mayor of the city of Lviv in western Ukraine Andrey Sadovy called on everyone to “prepare themselves for difficult times, perhaps the most difficult period in the country’s history”.
“We have difficult weeks and months ahead of us. Currently, it is difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow. We will do everything in our power to keep the medical facilities in working order.” – Sadovy said in his address to the people.
Plachkov says that “[rus ordusunun] until the missiles run out” it is impossible to say when things will return to normal.
“All citizens of Ukraine living in cities should be prepared. They are in advance village they should find their friends and relatives who live there so that when they need to move, to move their children and the elderly, they can go and wait there for a while.” – he emphasizes.