Cutting off power supply to consumers to be measure of last resort - Ukrenergo CEO

MOSCOW. May 18 (Interfax) - Imposing limits on power supply to consumers in the event of its shortage is the last of all possible measures that may be taken to balance the energy system, Vladimir Kudritsky, CEO of Ukrenergo, the power grid operator of Ukraine, said.

"The deficit itself, which, indeed, may be observed during the summer, does not mean cutting consumers off power supply. It can be handled by several methods, and power cuts are a measure of last resort in our list of measures by priority," Ukrainian media quoted Kudritsky as saying during the national telethon on Wednesday evening.

The most obvious way of balancing the Ukrainian energy system is to import electricity from Europe, he said.

"This will help gain additional capacity to cover Ukrainian consumption needs in times when there is a capacity shortage," Kudritsky said.

The second method is to maximize the capabilities of Ukraine's thermal and hydropower generation, he said.

"These two key elements will be important to getting through the summer. We also call on consumers to continue to save electricity, especially during the evening, roughly from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., shift electricity usage to periods at night or during the day," he said.

Presently, Ukraine is exporting limited amounts of electricity only when there is an excess of it, i.e. during the day and at night, he said.

"During peak hours in the morning and in the evening, we are already limiting exports to zero in order to enable the energy system and domestic generation to cover Ukrainian consumption needs. As in winter, our priority is Ukrainian consumers. During evening hours, we observe a certain shortage of electricity, which we have to cover by additional loading on power units," Kudritsky said.

The information available on the website of the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) shows that, in particular, on May 17 Ukraine exported electricity to Moldova for three hours, from 9:00 a.m. until midday, at 17-25 MW capacity. As regards Poland, Ukraine exported there 100MW of electricity during each of the first four hours of day, 200 MW per hour for several hours, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and 100 MW during the last hour of that day.

As reported, DTEK CEO Dmitry Sakharuk has said that increasing electricity production at thermal power plants and importing electricity during peak hours will help avoid limiting power supply to consumers during repairs at generation facilities.