The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has set deadlines for the protection of all energy substations in the country by September 1, but these deadlines are considered too ambitious and unrealistic. According to experts, it is realistically possible to complete the work only by the end of December or early January next year.
This is reported by Finway
Challenges in protecting energy infrastructure
Member of Parliament and member of the parliamentary committee on energy and housing and communal services, Serhiy Nahornyak, reported that work on strengthening and restoring the energy sector is ongoing, but its pace depends on available resources and personnel potential. Currently, the main focus is on substations with a voltage of 110 kV, of which there are thousands across the country.
“The recovery process is ongoing, the construction of protective structures is continuing with the resources we have and at the pace we can organize today. Yes, they are not very fast, but we have what we have.”
The politician emphasized that the government has tasked regional military administrations and recovery services to ensure the protection of 110 kV substations by September 1. At the same time, he believes that this goal is overly optimistic, and the possibility of achieving it depends on timely funding and strict control over the progress of work. According to Nahornyak, it is realistically not possible to complete all necessary work before December 25 or January 1.
Problems with electricity supply in certain regions
In March of this year, a critical situation with electricity supply occurred in Odesa due to significant damage to energy networks. According to MP Oleksiy Kucherенко, residents of the region faced prolonged power outages, as many substations were only partially operational or completely non-functional.
Serhiy Nahornyak also noted that Ukraine plans to strengthen measures to protect critical energy infrastructure. In particular, this involves the construction of additional protective structures for “Ukrenergo” substations around Kyiv, which will include protection for transformers, relay blocks, and switches. If necessary, “Energoatom” may also be involved in this process.