Power supply restrictions still applied in Ukraine

MOSCOW. July 29 (Interfax) - Hour-by-hour power supply restrictions will be applied in Ukraine to one category of consumers from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Monday, Ukrainian media reported citing the national power grid operator Ukrenergo.

No scheduled power cuts are expected during other time slots, it said.

Media said citing the DTEK power holding later on Monday that hour-by-hour outage schedules in the city of Kiev, in the Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, and Odessa regions, and in the Kiev-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, where DTEK supplies electricity, would be applied from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

The Poltava, Volyn, and Sumy regional power operators made similar announcements, saying that power supply would be restricted during said hours only to one category of consumers.      

Ukrenergo said power consumption has been gradually declining as the heat wave has been subsiding. As of 9:30 a.m. Monday, consumption was 6% lower than it was at 9:30 a.m. on July 25 "due to lower temperature in certain regions," it said.

In addition, two nuclear power plant units have resumed operations following maintenance in the past two weeks, which increased the system's capacity, it said.

Adverse weather cut power supply to 93 communities in the Kiev, Zhitomir, Khmelnitsky, and Chernigov regions as of Monday morning, and another 478 communities had no electricity for other reasons.

Meanwhile, the European Union is providing Ukraine with another 68 power generators to sustain critical infrastructure operations, Ukrainian media reported with reference to the Delegation of the EU to Ukraine.

"The EU Commission's Service for Foreign Policy Instruments and Germany on Peace & Humanitarian Action are providing 68 generators to keep critical infrastructure running," it said.

Media have also reported citing the Verkhovna Rada's website that President Vladimir Zelensky signed into law bills repealing VAT and import duties on power equipment.

As reported previously, the Verkhovna Rada on July 16 passed legislation granting import duty and VAT exemptions for certain equipment brought into Ukraine's customs territory. The exemptions apply to power generating equipment, equipment for wind and solar parks, power batteries (except for small-capacity ones), mine clearance equipment, and equipment for manufacturing devices to counter scientific and technical intelligence gathering.