The situation with electricity supply in Ukraine has worsened due to a change in Russian attack tactics and a significant increase in the intensity of attacks on energy infrastructure. Russian troops now simultaneously hit power plants and electricity transmission facilities, which significantly complicates the restoration of the power system.
On November 5, energy company DTEK reported this, explaining the reasons for the more frequent power outages.
According to the company, over the past three days alone, Russian troops carried out 78 strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. For comparison, in 2022 there were 11 massive attacks on the power system, primarily aimed at power plants.
DTEK emphasized that the nature of the shelling has now changed. In addition to generating facilities, Russian troops systematically attack infrastructure that ensures the transmission of electricity to consumers.
“We were prepared. But Russia is constantly changing its attack tactics and increasing their intensity,” the company said in response to a question about the readiness of power engineers for new attacks.
Ukraine's energy system has been operating under constant Russian shelling for the fifth year now. According to DTEK's assessment, no power system in the world has previously faced such scale and duration of destruction.
Restoring damaged equipment requires considerable time and resources. Additional difficulties are caused by prolonged air raid alerts and the threat of repeated strikes, due to which repair crews are forced to interrupt their work.
The company emphasized that power engineers continue to restore damaged facilities around the clock to return electricity supply to consumers.
Earlier, on November 3, Russian troops attacked three DTEK thermal power plants with dozens of missiles and drones. As a result of the large-scale destruction, all three plants ceased electricity production. The timeframe for restoring their operation has not yet been announced.
The Ministry of Energy also explained that after damage to energy facilities, dispatchers are forced to introduce emergency outages to prevent larger-scale technological accidents.
After the situation stabilizes, emergency restrictions may be lifted, but due to the lack of available generation and damage to power grids, the need for hourly outages remains.
For Friday, November 6, Ukrenergo planned the application of outage schedules in certain regions throughout the day. The specific time of no electricity depends on the region and the established queue of consumers.
DTEK did not name the timing of full stabilization of electricity supply. The duration of restrictions will depend on the condition of damaged equipment, the pace of restoration, and further Russian attacks.
