Severe Frost Cuts Power to 1,000 Ukrainian Cities and Villages

As of Jan. 9, some 1,025 settlements were cut off in nine regions of Ukraine due to temperatures falling to as low as minus 22°C.

The situation has been exacerbated by strong winds, thick ice on electrical equipment, fallen poles and numerous broken wires, NPC ‘Ukrenergo’ reported.

Meanwhile, the level of electricity consumption has been rising, putting extra pressure on power plants and overloading electricity distribution networks.

Average temperatures dropped from 0°C on Jan. 5, to -11°C on Jan. 8, before sinking to -15°C on Jan. 9.

Ukrenergo stated that, for now, the electricity produced by Ukraine’s power plants is sufficient to ensure the energy supply of all businesses and household consumers.

However, to avoid operational problems at plants, people are reminded to consume electricity sparingly and not turn on multiple powerful electrical devices at the same time.

Regions worst affected

Some 324 settlements in Dnipro region, 268 in Odesa region and 215 in Mykolaiv region have been cut off from the grid.

These are followed by 146 in Kirovohrad region, 51 in Zaporizhzhia region, nine in Chernivtsi region, six in Chernihiv region, four in Kyiv region and two in Donetsk region.

A total of 485 settlements have been cut off due to hostilities and for other reasons, As a result of shelling, there is new damage to Oblenergo distribution networks in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.