22 Dec 2022 13:02

Power supply situation most difficult in Kiev among other Ukrainian cities - Yasno power supplier

MOSCOW. Dec 22 (Interfax) - Among Ukrainian cities, the capital Kiev is continuing to encounter the biggest problems with power supply, as 60% of transformers are not currently operating, general director of the Yasno power supplier Sergei Kovalenko said.

"There have been no changes for the better. The power supply situation in Kiev is now the most difficult as compared to the rest of the country. There are neighborhoods that receive electricity for about five hours a day. There are consumers who have electricity for 2-3 hours a day. Some consumers have had no electricity at all since December 19," Ukrainian media outlets quoted Kovalenko as saying in a social media post.

The city cannot receive power from the Ukrainian grid because high-voltage power lines have been damaged, he said.

"The key problem in Kiev is not generation, but the grid. A grid cannot function when 60% of transformers are out of service. It is impossible to supply electricity to places where there is no equipment," Kovalenko said.

Power supply lines in Kiev are not linear and "are not always logical from the point of view of the map and districts," so a situation where among ten houses that are receiving power there is one that has no electricity is quite real. It means that this house is connected to a line where the substation was damaged, he said.

The situation may worsen even further if "the remaining 40% of transformers" stop functioning, Kovalenko said.