Ukrenergo head advises that Ukrainian population should prepare generators for winter 'just in case'

MOSCOW. July 27 (Interfax) - Vladimir Kudritsky, chairman of the board of the Ukrenergo national energy company, a transmission system operator, advised the population that they should prepare power generators for winter or, if possible, buy them "just in case".

"Prepare [generators] for winter! If there is an opportunity to buy some autonomous power sources, it is a good idea. Let them be just in case," Ukrainian media quoted Kudritsky as saying at a press conference in Kharkov on Thursday.

It is impossible to predict the likelihood of blackouts or power outages, he said. At the same time, he emphasized that consumers could greatly help prepare the power system for the heating season.

The head of the transmission system operator stressed the need for rational use of electricity, especially during the peak load hours of the power system in the evening. "This does not mean refusing to use electricity, it means getting used to using energy resources efficiently," Kudritsky said.

The report, which was drawn up by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank, revealed that the available electricity generation capacity has halved from 37.6 GW to 18.3 GW since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine from February 2022 to April 30, 2023.

Highly maneuverable capacity in the system, which dropped 68% from 14.3 GW to 4.6 GW, primarily, at the thermal power plants, was affected the most. Available nuclear generation capacity fell 44% from 13.8 GW to 7.7 GW, while hydropower generation capacity declined 29% from 6.6 GW to 4.7 GW. Available RES capacity decreased 24%, from 8.1 GW to 6.2 GW.