Ukraine has been at war for a long time now Ukrainians living in and around Kyiv have been informed of a sudden deterioration in the region’s electricity supply after a fresh wave of Russian strikes aimed at sapping public morale as the country’s cold and long winter approaches.
A local energy supplier, Yasno, warned that existing blackouts could last a lot longer than a previously planned schedule of four-hour outages and that the reports that are received by the public can be misleading. He further added that the capital already faced an electricity deficit of about 30% or more.
Oleksiy Kuleba, the governor of the Kyiv region, said the area, including the capital city, will suffer from power outages after Ukraine’s national grid was subjected to attacks by Russians. After the attack, several critical facilities, that are expected to be attacked by Russians, are closed.
Russia has brought Ukraine’s electricity system to a crisis in a little over a fortnight by switching the focus of its missile and drone attacks to the country’s main power stations and grids.
In its update, Yasno said Kyiv normally consumed 1,000-2,000MW of electricity but now the estimated available power is 600-800MW which will for sure cause some serious complications for the people inhabiting the capital. Warning that the overnight destruction had been serious, the company said they are facing sharp deterioration in power and the people are requested to be patient.
President’s take on the matter
President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously predicted that 30% of Ukraine’s power stations will be damaged or destroyed, although the figure is now likely to be greater than estimated. Gas and water supplies have also been targeted in the attacks that begin in the early days of October disrupting that in some cases will take years or decades to fix.
Although October has been relatively warm by current standards, the weather turns dramatically colder from November and the night-time temperature in many parts of Ukraine can hit lows of -10C (14F) and even -20C enough to make life outdoors a cold hell.
Zelensky said on Wednesday night he had held an emergency meeting to discuss the energy situation earlier that day. Politicians, officials, and suppliers discussed how to conserve or protect sites, repair the damage, and ensure people would still be supplied with power.
The President said that conscious energy consumption is now needed by all Ukrainians. He requested people to choose their scheme for minimizing electricity consumption while there is a shortage in the general power system. Ukraine had traditionally enjoyed a surplus of energy but is now facing its most civilian severe crisis since the early phases of the war with continuous blackouts of several hours having become normality across the country.
People have been reminded to use electricity sparingly during morning and evening and to carefully regulate the use of energy-intensive appliances, while businesses are frequently operating with sharply reduced lighting to save the power that could be saved.
Ukraine has been resilient in facing a much stronger and more capable enemy in Russia. However, their mettle is going to be seriously tested during the long and cold winter.
