Blackout possible only in theory – Minister of Energy
Blackout in Ukraine is possible only in theory, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine reported on its website with reference to Minister Herman Haluschenko.
"Our power system has been operating under relentless shelling for almost three months. Therefore, there is already a set of technical solutions that ensure the stability of its operation. This applies to both generation and transmission of electricity. I am confident that the system will continue to hold on to subsequent possible strikes," Haluschenko said during the National Telethon.
As he said, there are a number of solutions both in terms of physical protection of power facilities and technical balancing of the system, which prove their effectiveness. A blackout in Ukraine is theoretically possible, but the power system is constantly proving its resilience for almost three months of massive attacks.
According to the minister, due to significant damage to both generation and electricity transmission systems, power supply limitation schedules will have to be applied until the end of the heating season. However, they must be controlled.
"Our main goal is to ensure that outages are planned and predictable, so that consumers clearly understand when electricity will be turned off, and distribution system operators follow the outage schedules," he said.
As Haluschenko informed, there is currently ongoing monitoring of compliance with shutdown schedules, which is carried out by the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission of Ukraine (NEURC), State Energy Supervision Inspectorate of Ukraine, and the Security Service of Ukraine.
"Unfortunately, there are facts of violations, primarily on the part of the TSO [transmission system operators]. Therefore, we are taking measures, including against top managers," he said.