Prime Minister Deniz Shmyhal said that as Ukraine grapples with an energy crisis, the country will need to prioritize electricity supplies.
“The first priority is critical infrastructure, especially water and heating facilities and hospitals,” Shmihal told a government meeting. The second priority is the military-industrial complex – facilities that work for the defense of the state. The principle “everything for the front” has not changed at all. »
He said the third priority is for companies that produce essential products – for example, bakeries and dairies. The residential sector ranked fourth.
Volodymyr Kudritsky, CEO of the Okenergo state power generator, said repairs are continuing after the latest wave of Russian missile attacks on Monday.
Kudritsky said substations in southern Ukraine and power plants were damaged.
Many power plants were forced to produce electricity after the damage. We are now trying to gradually restore production at thermal power plants to bring them back to the levels that existed on the eve of the last attack.”
Kudrytskyi said that since October 10, more than 1,000 heavy missiles and drones have been launched at energy infrastructure. The main difficulties in the supply of electricity are currently in the Odessa region, the Kherson region and the Kharkiv region.
Nuclear generation provided more than half of Ukraine’s needs in the recent past, but Kudritsky said the country needed other types of power generation.
“There is not a single thermal power plant in Ukraine that was not damaged by the attacks,” he said. Likewise, almost all hydroelectric power plants have been damaged and have limited power generation capacity. »
He said that as repairs continue, he hopes the country will move to planned blackouts in the coming days. Much of Ukraine has also experienced emergency blackouts in recent weeks.
Energy Minister Herman Halushenko said Russia is expected to target more infrastructure, and energy supplies could also be affected by severe frosts.
Ukraine has already acquired energy equipment worth several million euros. And our task today is not only to use the equipment for quick repair work, but also to make stocks of equipment that may be urgently needed after the next bombing.
