Nearly 700 communities cut off from power supply in Ukraine - Ukrenergo
MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax) - Three units of thermal power plants in Ukraine have been stopped for emergency repairs, and adverse weather and damage have also prompted some regional power grid operators to cut power output from two combined heat and power plants in the southern and western parts of the country, Ukrainian media have reported with reference to the national power grid operator Ukrenergo.
Solar power plants are currently generating almost no electricity because of cloudy weather, Ukrenergo said.
Power consumption on Thursday morning was 1.9% higher than on Wednesday. "This puts extra load on the energy system. It is very important to consume electricity economically now," it said.
No power consumption limits have been set, and no outage schedules have been applied or are planned for now, it said.
The Energy Ministry said in a statement that four units of thermal power plants have been stopped for temporary repairs and should be reconnected to the grid soon.
Ukrenergo said capacity of its high-voltage power transmission lines is sufficient to cover demand. Moreover, a high-voltage overhead power line that was disconnected from the grid because of bad weather on Wednesday has resumed operations now.
Ukraine has not exported electricity for several weeks. Electricity imports on Thursday decreased by 15% to 3,429 MW/h compared to Wednesday. Ukraine is importing electricity at daytime from Slovakia, Romania, and Moldova, with maximum transmission capacity reaching 621 MW during certain hours, which is slightly more than one-third of the 1,700 MW technical ceiling for imports from Europe to Ukraine authorized since December 1.
As reported with reference to the Energy Ministry, 225 communities around Ukraine were cut off from power as of Thursday morning because of adverse weather, including snowfalls, icing, and gusty wind, including 38 communities in the Dnepropetrovsk region, 25 in the Kharkov region, four in the Kirovograd region, and 147 in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk region.
Another 454 communities have no electricity because of technical failures and other causes.