Emergency power outages began in Ukraine today, January 31. Moldova was also affected by problems in the Ukrainian power grid. Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal explained what happened.
Emergency power outages began in Ukraine today, January 31. Moldova was also affected by problems in the Ukrainian power grid. Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal explained what happened.
At the command of Ukrenergo, emergency shutdowns were applied in Kyiv and the Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that the metro was suspended due to a series of tensions.
"Underground metro stations can currently operate as shelters (on backup power to the stations)," Klitschko added.
Train traffic on the Kharkiv metro lines has also been temporarily suspended. Local authorities say it is due to technical reasons.
In addition, the operation of urban passenger electric transport in Kharkiv has been temporarily suspended.
The water supply systems of Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Poltava, and Konotop were also affected by the power outage.
At the same time, Ukrzaliznytsia reports that the situation with power supply on the railway, which arose due to an external power outage, has been stabilized.
"Power supply has been restored in almost all regions - trains continue to run on their routes. Delays from the schedule are minimal and will be made up. There is light and heating at the stations, heating points are operating normally. Kyiv City Express has resumed its movement. Estimated delays are 20-30 minutes. We are catching up with the schedule as much as possible," the message states.
The Moldovan Ministry of Energy stated that due to serious problems in the Ukrainian power grid, on the morning of Saturday, January 31, at 10:42, the voltage dropped on the 400 kV Isaccea-Vulcanesti-MGRES line, causing a damaged power system outage.
"The electricity transmission system operator, Moldlectrica, is working to correct the situation, and power has already been restored in some settlements," the ministry said in a statement.
According to NewsMaker , Chisinau and its suburbs were affected, as well as Taraclia, Cahul, and Anenii Noi.
"Today at 10:42 a.m., a technological disruption occurred with the simultaneous shutdown of the 400 kV line between the power systems of Romania and Moldova and the 750 kV line between the Western and Central parts of Ukraine," said Denys Shmyhal, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of Ukraine.
This caused a cascade outage in the Ukrainian power grid and the activation of automatic protections at substations. The nuclear power plant units were unloaded. Currently, in Kyiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Kharkiv regions, the dispatcher has applied special emergency outage schedules.
Ukrenergo energy workers are working to restore power supply. The power will be restored in the coming hours.
"It will take 24 to 36 hours to stabilize the power system and restore full generation at the nuclear power plant," said Serhiy Nagornyak, People's Deputy of Ukraine, member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Communal Services.
