Round-the-clock blackout schedules again introduced in Ukraine on Fri

MOSCOW. July 5 (Interfax) - Hourly blackout schedules will be in effect across Ukraine throughout the day on Friday, July 5, at the instruction of the Ukrenergo power grid operator, Ukrainian media outlets said, citing the DTEK energy holding's statement on social media.

Ukrenergo, in turn, said that the regional distribution system operators would introduce power cuts for two categories of consumers from midnight to 3:00 a.m. and from 11:00 a.m. to midnight, and for three categories of consumers during the rest of the day.

As reported, a category is a group of households and businesses that consum a certain quantity of megawatts. Consumption in each region is divided between six categories. Ukrenergo's operations control center decides how many categories of consumers in all regions should be cut off from power supply to offset the shortage in the energy system. But it is up to the distribution system operators in each region to decide on the size of the category and which category to disconnect at a given period of time.

Forty-five communities, or 12,219 consumers, in four Ukrainian regions remained without electricity on Friday morning due to adverse weather, media said, citing the Energy Ministry. They include 20 communities in the Kiev region, 18 in the Chernigov region, five in the Kirovograd region, and two in the Dnepropetrovsk region.

The blackout schedules in effect for July 5 will not apply to critical infrastructure and enterprises where imports account for 80% of their electricity needs in line with the government's executive order, the ministry said.

Ukraine on Friday is importing electricity from Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Moldova in the total amount of 35,851 MWh with the maximum capacity at 1,683 MW, Ukrenergo said.

Ukraine's electricity imports from these five countries stood at 35,212 MWh on July 4, 1,000 MWh more than on July 3, with the capacity peaking at 1,660 MW in certain hours.

Thus, a growth of projected electricity imports by Ukraine has been recorded over the past two days.