Forty-four high-voltage power lines in Ukraine disconnected from grid - energy minister

MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax) - Forty-four overhead high-voltage power lines in Ukraine are currently disconnected from the grid, Ukrainian media quoted Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko as saying at a meeting of the G7+ coordination group for energy.

"The situation in the energy system remains complicated. All thermal power plants have been damaged, and 44 overhead high-voltage transmission lines are without power. At the moment, repair works are ongoing, as is the process of gradually increasing nuclear power generation capacity in order to reduce the deficit in the energy system," Galushchenko said in a statement published on the Energy Ministry's website on Monday.

"Our goal is to not only rapidly use the equipment for conducting current repairs but also to form a stockpile of equipment, which will allow us to fix energy facilities more quickly," he said.

The participants in the meeting reaffirmed their readiness to provide further support to the Ukrainian energy sector, the Energy Ministry said.

"In particular, the U.S. plans to deliver a large batch of equipment for Ukrainian energy companies shortly," it said.

The G7+ coordination group for energy includes representatives of the Group of Seven countries, the European Union, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and the Energy Community Secretariat.