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DTEK says nearly a million people are without electricity in Mariupol and the Kyiv region.
The intensification of attacks has raised concerns that Russia could target additional nuclear plants and other large power facilities.
Adam Stein, deputy director of nuclear innovation at the Breakthrough Institute, said attacking energy systems is a particularly effective warfare tactic that causes widespread damage through attacks on nuclear sites. relatively small target.
And it could have deadly effects amid the nation’s frigid winter temperatures. Even with the natural gas pipelines intact, electricity is still needed to run the pumping stations and furnaces.
“Make no mistake: taking Ukraine’s power plants offline WILL kill civilians,” tweeted Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor at Princeton, an expert in energy modeling.
Power cuts could shut down subways, buses and trains that people are using to flee; turn off the lights in bomb shelters and hospitals; and spoil food and medicine. It also threatens to cut communications, disrupt government plans, weaken the military’s defenses, and undermine morale.
Grid sync
As of Sunday, radiation levels were normal at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, but only two of the six reactors were operational. according to for the International Atomic Energy Agency. The normal team is still operating the plant, but they are doing so “at the behest of the commander of the Russian forces” that control the site. They have also turned off their communication lines.
Ukraine has only limited options for enhancing the resilience of its electricity grid during war. DTEK turn on quickly Nine coal turbines added last week to make up for lost electricity from the nuclear plant.
But the country’s coal and natural gas reserves have was at a lower level than usual this winter. Conventional supply lines, from mine to port, may be limited, at risk of attack or already damaged. Notably, railway lines transporting coal to a separate power plant in Zaporizhzhia were “exploded,” noted DTEK.
Georg Zachmann, a senior fellow at the Bruegel economic group who focuses on Ukraine’s energy issues, said filling up the output of a nuclear plant would quickly deplete reserves.
Energy officials and executives across the country are promote another possibility: rapid integration of the country’s electricity grid with that of the European Union to allow electricity to flow in, especially in the event of a sudden or widespread blackout.
PAVLO BALANENKO / ALAMY
That effort is already underway. In 2017, the country’s main transmission operator, Ukrenergo, signed a connectivity agreement with ENTSO-E, the association of more than 40 European transmission operators. But integration will require the installation of frequency control capabilities and other technology to ensure interoperable grids, as well as extensive system safety tests and a range of agreements. complex legal and electricity market agreements.
Full integration will also require enabling or building transmissions across Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, Zachmann noted in an analysis last year. Those will provide a total of more than 5 gigawatts of electricity, which exceeds 10% of Ukraine’s normal generating capacity, the level required by the EU and ENTSO-E for such cross-border integration operations.
All of that is expected to cost at least €600 million and take years to complete.
The hope is now that the parties can synchronize the system in “emergency mode,” Possibly in a matter of days or weeks, by eliminating some of the usual claims and agreements. Zachmann said that the limited integration could affect the routes already connecting Ukraine with Hungary and Slovakia.
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said there was broad agreement on moving forward “as quickly as possible,” Reuters reported.
But there could still be some important technical and political challenges hindering the integration process. Late last month, ENTSO-E speak Its transmission operators will “urgently evaluate” the options and treat the effort as a “matter of priority”. But it does not provide details on the current status of the commit or publish an estimated time.
In response to a question from the MIT Technology Review, the press office said that its experts are evaluating different options and must take into account technical considerations, system stability, regulatory issues, and more. and security concerns.
