Power supply in Ukraine to be restored within hours – Energy Minister
Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy, Denys Shmyhal, announced on Saturday via Telegram that electricity across the country will be restored within the next few hours.
"Today at 10:42 a technological disruption occurred, simultaneously disconnecting a 400 kV line between the power systems of Romania and Moldova and a 750 kV line between the western and central parts of Ukraine. This led to a cascading shutdown in Ukraine’s power grid and triggered automatic protections at substations," Shmyhal explained.
He noted that nuclear power plant units had been unloaded. At present, special emergency outage schedules have been applied by dispatchers in the city of Kyiv, Kyiv region, Zhytomyr region, and Kharkiv region.
"Ukrenergo’s energy specialists are working to restore electricity supply. Power will be restored within the next few hours," Shmyhal assured.
Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that he had received briefings from Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Denys Shmyhal regarding the emergency situation in Ukraine’s power system caused by technological issues on the lines between the Ukrainian and Moldovan power systems.
"All necessary response measures at the level of Ukraine’s energy system are in place, and restoration work is ongoing. The task now is to stabilize the situation as soon as possible," Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday.