8 Jun 2023 17:16

HPPs on Dnieper cut power output to limit water flowing to Kakhovka reservoir

MOSCOW. June 8 (Interfax) - Ukraine's hydroelectric power plants located on the Dnieper River upstream from the stricken Kakhovka HPP are cutting electricity production in order to limit the flow of water into the Kakhovka Reservoir to reduce flooding, Ukrainian media reported, citing Ukrenergo system operator.

Overall electricity output in Ukraine is sufficient to cover the needs of consumers, the company said on social media. However, the situation in the energy system remains difficult, and there could be a shortage in capacity in the evening because of the limited number of power units in operation.

Ukrenergo said that the country's energy system on June 7, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., received emergency assistance from the Romanian energy system in order to cover the evening consumption period because of Ukrainian power plants' inability to generate overall capacity.

No electricity is to be exported on Thursday. Ukraine exported 1,800 MW/h of electricity to Poland on Monday and 800 MW/h on Wednesday. A total of 673 MW/h of electricity is to be imported from Slovakia from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., which is ten times more than it imported on Wednesday.

While commenting on the situation in the national power system following the accident at the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant, Ukrenergo CEO Vladimir Kudritsky said the company did not expect massive outages because of power shortage anytime soon.

The last time the Ukrainian power system accepted emergency aid from abroad to cover an evening consumption peak was when it imported electricity from the Romanian power system on May 27.

In addition to the destroyed Kakhovka HPP, the Dnieper cascade structure of HPPs includes the Kiev HPP, the Kiev hydroelectric pumped storage power plant, the Kanevsk HPP, the Kremenchug HPP, the Srednedneprovsk HPP, and the Dnieper HPP.

Head of the Novaya Kakhovka administration Vladimir Leontyev told reporters earlier that the Kakhovka HPP's gate valves and other surface elements were destroyed as a result of overnight strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, causing water at the Kakhovka reservoir to be released uncontrollably downstream.

The water level in the Kherson Region's coastal settlements rose to a high of 12 meters. The local authorities organized the evacuation of some inhabitants of the three urban districts of Novaya Kakhovka, Alyoshki, and Golaya Pristan, respectively. The water should reduce within three days according to the outlook.

The Kakhovka HPP has been operating since the 1950s. It regulated the flow of the Dnieper River in order to supply power, to irrigate and provide a water supply to the arid southern regions, and to navigate from Kherson to Zaporizhzhya. The North Crimean Canal, which provided the peninsula with water from the Dnieper, begins at the Kakhovka HPP. The HPP has not generated electricity since mid-2022 because of shelling.