Ukraine’s power outage schedules have shifted, with some regions facing blackouts for most of the day under a new system, the head of the Yasno retail electrical energy supplier, the consumer-level interface for DTEK Group, said.
Yasno CEO Serhii Kovalenko said on Facebook that the approach to outage schedules has changed nationwide, and in regions where restrictions apply, power cuts may now last far longer than before.
He said the city of Dnipro and the surrounding Dnipropetrovsk region are currently operating under outage schedules, but not the format residents had previously experienced.
In the past, Kovalenko said, the use of more than four outage groups typically meant emergency cuts outside the schedule. Now, he said, the country is effectively living under schedules equivalent to 4.5 to five outage groups.
“Maximum intervals of seven hours without power and 3.5 hours with power are no longer relevant. The schedule of probable outages is also no longer relevant,” Kovalenko said.
“With restrictions of five out of six groups, outages can last more than 16 hours. This is the current reality.”
Kovalenko said he could not predict when the situation in the energy system would improve, citing ongoing Russian attacks as the main factor affecting power supply.
Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) warned Saturday that Russia is considering attacks on electricity transmission substations that support the operation of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, in what Kyiv described as an effort to pressure the country into accepting unacceptable surrender terms.
HUR said Moscow is weighing strikes on strategic energy facilities, specifically substations that transmit power from nuclear plants to the national grid.
According to the intelligence agency, Russia also plans to intensify intimidation of European and Western countries to curb support for Ukraine, including efforts to weaken Ukraine’s ability to repel Russian air attacks on critical energy infrastructure.
“By destroying or disabling these substations, Moscow is seeking to disconnect the nuclear power plant’s power units from Ukraine’s integrated power grid, leaving Ukrainian civilians completely without electricity and heat,” HUR added.
Last Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would move to introduce a state of emergency in the energy sector, citing the heavy impact of recent Russian attacks on power and heating systems.
Zelensky announced plans to combat the “severe” consequences of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure and worsening weather conditions which will include establishing a special headquarters in Kyiv to coordinate a full-time response to the energy crisis.