Page 17 - FSUOGM Week 40 2022

FSUOGM NEWS IN BRIEF FSUOGM

Will Ukraine suffer in darkness to their clients, DTEK is working with the fears of a nuclear disaster. Despite calls from
the International Atomic Energy Agency
electricity transmission system operator
this winter? DTEK's Timchenko Ukrenergo. During blackouts on October (IAEA) for Russia to leave the plant after an
inspection found “the presence of Russian
10, the company developed a schedule to
believes the energy sector can inform their employees when electricity military personnel, vehicles and equipment”
would be switched off, depending on the
onsite, Moscow has refused.
pull through with help from deficit of the capacity. Kyiv’s control, DTEK had to compensate
With Ukraine’s largest NPP out of
The situation improved later in the week;
friends however, an attack on a substation on the by increasing the capacity of other plants
by 20%, particularly TPPs, resulting in a
morning of October 13 posed as a reminder
Russia’s extreme strikes on Ukraine’s energy that the situation is increasingly precarious. depletion of coal supply. Although DTEK
infrastructure this week have caused In some instances, DTEK has lost more accumulated a large amount of coal for the
international outrage and concerns that the than just infrastructure, with a total of three year, stock is running out fast, with 300,000
war-torn country will suffer a cold and dark engineers killed in attacks and hundreds of tonnes burned in one month. Currently,
winter. employees injured. the organisation has 1.2mn tonnes of coal
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private investor With an increasing number of attacks and has developed supply routes through
in the energy sector, has been working from the air, particularly from drones, Romania, Poland and Moldova to import
hard to make sure that doesn’t happen. DTEK is protecting its facilities by building 50-80,000 tonnes a month if required.
Nevertheless, the challenges are huge, concrete blocks around major equipment Nevertheless, Timchenko believes
particularly with Moscow’s intense focus on that connects the stations to the grid. Ukraine “can cope with the current
destroying as many facilities as possible. However, this is not always effective, and situation in terms of coal supply” but needs
Speaking from a bunker in Kyiv during the company lost a transformer recently a mixture of gas and coal to replace the
an air raid alert, DTEK CEO Maksym after a drone strike. Instead, Timchenko ZNPP fully. He puts the gas requirements
Timchenko talked about the problems believes air defence is the best solution and at 2-2.5bn cubic metres, which Kyiv is
and obstacles that Ukraine is trying to is in co-ordination with Ukraine’s armed currently discussing obtaining from the
overcome during a briefing on October 13. forces. USA or the EU.
Hits over the last few days have damaged “We are working closely with armed “Mixing coal and gas allows us to have
30% of Ukraine’s energy facilities, leaving forces and air defence units and bringing enough generational capacity for the winter
thousands of settlements without power to their attention these attacks,” he said, season,” he stated.
whilst forcing Ukraine to stop electricity explaining that DTEK is telling the army The CEO is also optimistic that Ukraine
exports to the EU. what specific equipment and what areas are will not need to rely on EU electricity
Three of DTEK’s power plants were being targeted. imports, although acknowledges that this
struck, including Ukraine’s largest thermal “It can be done easily to bring some could change if further serious attacks
power station (TPP), Burshtyn, which equipment to the power station to destroy take place. If that is the case, Ukraine has
contains DTEK’s largest stock of coal. drones when they approach,” he added. discussed expanding its capacity to import
Although the company managed to partly Minister of Energy Herman up to 1,000 MW from the Bloc. However,
restore operations of two plants, Burshtyn is Halushchenko also called for more air issues lie in connecting Ukraine’s different
still only operating at only 50-60%, with five defence from allies earlier this week. In regions as well as restoring infrastructure in
out of 11 power units working. “I hope we response, the US announced it will speed newly liberated territories.
can bring back the rest in two weeks' time,” up the deliveries of two National Advanced “Today we have enough generational
he says. Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), capacity in Ukraine. The problem is
Timchenko made it clear that Russia while Germany sent the IRIS-T defence bringing this capacity from one region to
is not just targeting military objects but system, with three more promised in the another,” he said.
critical infrastructure too, beginning with near future. “We need to restore supply in occupied
the attack on the Luhansk Power Plant on DTEK is attempting to repair the territories, like Lyman,” he also claimed,
February 26. The deliberate targeting of damages imposed on its plants and has a mentioning that DTEK has enough
energy infrastructure as winter draws closer team of eager workers, but is struggling with resources and people and is making steady
is designed to put external pressure on procuring crucial equipment that connects progress,
Ukraine and exert psychological pressure the plants to the grid. In particular, DTEK However, the same optimism doesn’t
on citizens, who will soon face temperatures needs transformers and switch gears; spread to restarting Ukrainian electricity
below freezing. expensive but vital equipment which Russia exports to Europe. Without control of
“The main target is generation facilities, is targeting. the ZNPP, Ukraine will have to retain its
mostly related to substations and switch “ Finding transformers is challenging,” electricity for domestic use, potentially

gears, basically the equipment connecting Timchenko explains. “We request from our losing out on millions of euros in profit.
power generation sources to the United partners and suppliers this equipment. Also “Unless we connect the ZNPP back to
Energy Grid of Ukraine,” Timchenko we try to contact the companies operating the grid, we don’t see how Ukraine could
explained. “The idea is to destroy the power thermal power stations from the past who re-export to the EU,” Timchenko said.
grid so that we cannot connect and keep can have spare equipment.” Ukraine began exporting electricity to
operations under a united regime.” However, for Timchenko, the major the EU on June 30 after unhooking from
With the connections destroyed and challenge is de-occupying the Zaporizhzhia the Russian grid the day before the war
damaged, the results are rolling blackouts Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) that Russian and synchronising with the European grid
across the country. To minimise the damage troops captured in early March, escalating a couple of weeks later. It has the potential

Week 41 15•October•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P17