Ukrenergo resorts to emergency aid from Europe for 2nd evening in a row to cover electricity consumption

MOSCOW. Aug 18 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo had to request emergency aid from the Romanian power system on Thursday for the second evening in the row. Just as on Wednesday, Ukraine imported 1,200 MW/h at 400 MW from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

"Emergency aid is the last and the most expensive resort to cover a shortage of electricity in the power grid that does not require consumption restriction," Ukrainian media quoted Ukrenergo as saying on its social account on Friday, adding that the amount of electricity import was still not sufficient to compensate for the difference between consumption and generation.

According to the ENTSO-E website, Ukraine imported 1,183 MW/h of electricity from Moldova and 2,632 MW/h from Slovakia on Thursday. On Friday, Ukraine increased the amount of electricity imported from Moldova by 60.5% to 1,899 MW/h and from Slovakia by 4.4% to 2,749 MW/h.

Three units of thermal power plants have been stopped for emergency repairs, while two others have resumed operations over the past 24 hours, Ukrenergo said. On the whole, due to a large-scale repairs and maintenance campaign, the power grid has limited resources to cover high consumption, it said.

Problems have been recorded in the operation of two overhead power transmission lines in the Dnepropetrovsk and Ternopol regions over the past 24 hours, which did not require cutting power supply to customers, and the lines are currently functioning, it said.

A total of 413 populated areas across Ukraine remain without electricity.

Ukrainian media quoted the Energy Ministry as saying on its social account that overhead 110 kV power transmission lines were disconnected from the grid twice in the part of the Donetsk region controlled by Kiev, which limited power generation at a local thermal power plant.

An overhead 10 kV power transmission line was disconnected from the grid for technical reasons in the Borispol district of the Kiev region, leaving over 1,000 customers without electricity for several hours.

In Kherson, the number of customers cut off from power supply because of the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant disaster has been reduced to 11,000 from 15,000.

As reported, a new summer power consumption record was set in the Ukrainian power grid at 9:00 p.m. on August 16, exceeding the previous all-time high consumption on July 19 by 0.4%.

Ukraine has had to receive emergency aid from Europe in spring and summer this year to maintain balance between power generation and consumption. It received such aid from the Romanian energy system on May 27, then from 8:00 p.m. to 11 p.m. on June 7; then it received 1,200 MW/h from Romania and Poland on June 8; 1,600 MW/h from Romania and Poland on June 12; 1,200 MW/h from Romania and Poland on June 28; 1,200 MW/h from Romania between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on July 27; and 1,200 MW/h from Romania between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on August 17.

At the same time, Ukraine responded to Poland's request for emergency aid by accepting excess electricity in the amount of 1,800 MW/h on June 11.