Ukraine works around clock to restore power for 9,000 households on Kyiv’s left bank, while Russia may plan another attack soon

After the last Russian attack on Kyiv and its region, Ukrainian power engineers repeatedly attempted to restore scheduled hourly power outages on the left bank of the city. However, due to the critical condition of the grids were forced to revert to emergency blackouts.

Serhii Kovalenko, CEO of Yasno, a company that supplies electricity and gas to over 3.5 million clients, confirms that the situation with energy has become difficult following the massive Russian strike on 27 December. This attack killed two civilians. 

Why Kyiv's left bank cannot handle the load

According to Kovalenko, Kyiv’s right bank is currently operating under scheduled outage plans, albeit with significant restrictions. The situation on the left bank, however, is far more complicated.

“We have tried several times to switch the left bank to scheduled outages, but consumption increases uncontrollably and exceeds the system’s capacity. That’s why we are forced to return to emergency outages,” Kovalenko explains.

The key issue is damaged power grids, which are unable to reliably withstand the load after the attack.

Consequences that could not be resolved within a day

The CEO of Yasno emphasizes that Kyiv's energy system remains in a critical condition, while emergency crews are working around the clock.

“We continue to eliminate the consequences of Saturday’s massive attack 24/7,” Kovalenko notes.

He assured that power engineers will return to scheduled outages as soon as the technical condition of the system allows, and in the longer term, fully lift restrictions.

More than 9,000 households have been without electricity for a third day 

At the same time, DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, reports that as a result of the massive attack on the energy system, more than 9,000 households still remain without power.

“Restoration work has been ongoing for the third day and still requires some additional time,” the company says.

It was also noted that emergency outages continue in Boryspil and Brovary districts, while stabilization outage schedules are currently in effect in other districts of Kyiv Oblast.

On 29 December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Russia was preparing for another attack on Kyiv. Its goal was to derail peace talks and continue the war. He called on the world to prevent this from happening. 

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