The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine warned about the consequences of the power blockade of Crimea

After discussing the information provided by the specialists and the leadership of the Kherson region, the specialists of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry conducted an analysis of the risks of long-term use of the reserve power supply circuit of the region (in the absence of power supply on the Kakhovskaya-Titan line).

Until that moment, there were no situations in Ukraine when any territory experienced such a long disconnection from the standard electricity supply scheme. The standby supply scheme was not designed for the constant additional load under which it operates now. Therefore, energy specialists cannot reliably predict all the negative consequences that may occur. However, several significant risks are already clear today:

1. Power supply of the Kherson region, namely the Chaplinsky and Kalanchatsky regions, after switching off the Kakhovskaya-Titan overhead line, occurs according to a temporary scheme through lines that have a much longer length than the lines of the standard scheme. The length of these lines and the additional load on them create additional risks for the operation of the power system. It is more likely that equipment on these lines will fail, including all equipment that is involved in the transportation of electricity through the networks. In the last week, equipment in the region has already failed twice.

2. With a decrease in air temperature, all risks of system failures increase, since an increase in consumption creates an additional load on the network. It can also lead to additional short-term disconnections of consumers, as well as to an overall decrease in the voltage in the network. Reducing the voltage creates additional risks, since the vast majority of consumers among the population do not have household appliances equipped with safety devices or voltage rectifiers.

3. The long absence of power supply to industrial enterprises was not envisaged by the plans for alternative power supply, and therefore additional capacities (autonomous generators, other alternative sources of electricity) may not be enough to maintain the equipment of these enterprises in working order. According to the head of the Main Directorate of the DSSN of Ukraine, in the Kherson region, Sergei Cherny, in the event of an emergency at the bromine and soda plants in Krasnoperekopsk and Armyansk, the protective systems for the containment of these substances may be disconnected. The radius of pollution in this case will be about 100 km, which will capture the territory of the Kherson region, as well as the Black Sea.

4. After the emergency shutdown of four power lines in the south, the production of base mo