The hardest winter in 20 years: the government made a number of important decisions to save energy

In the territories that are in the energy emergency zone, the curfew is allowed to be relaxed / UNIAN collage, photo – UNIAN, pxhere.comTo stabilize the power system during the worst winter and massive Russian shelling, the government is introducing a set of emergency measures, including easing the curfew, deploying “points of unbreakability” and increasing electricity imports. Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyridenko announced this in her Telegram channel.

“The country’s energy system is in difficult circumstances due to intense Russian shelling and the hardest winter in 20 years. In connection with the emergency situation in the energy sector, the Government continues to take measures to overcome its consequences,” Svyridenko said.

Management and coordinationAccording to her, the First Deputy Prime Minister – the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has been appointed the head of works to eliminate the consequences of the emergency situation.

Thus, the government launched permanently operating headquarters at the national level and a separate one for the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv region. They will coordinate the actions of energy workers, communal services, emergency services, local authorities and central executive authorities around the clock.

CurfewThe head of the government noted that the curfew can be relaxed in the territories that are in the energy emergency zone.

During the curfew, citizens will be allowed to:

• without passes to be on the streets and in public places, including in shopping and entertainment centers, which provide the functions of “points of inviolability”, points of heating, as well as support for people’s and business’s activities. Such places must have heating, autonomous power supply, stable communication (entertainment facilities do not belong to the mentioned places);
• use private transport.

It is noted that the Security and Defense Forces will ensure control and public order.

EducationIn the capital, the Ministry of Education and the KMDA should extend or establish the winter vacation until February 1, 2026. The decision does not apply to kindergartens.

Also, the Ministry of Education and Culture, together with the Ministry of Education, should determine the need for all educational institutions to temporarily switch from face-to-face learning to distance learning or to extend or introduce the winter vacation until February 1, 2026, depending on the security situation in the region.

Increase in electricity importsIn addition, the government is creating opportunities for a rapid increase in electricity imports for state-owned companies and for businesses.

“Points of Invincibility”Svyridenko noted that during the day, additional “points of invincibility” will be deployed for the period of difficult weather conditions and emergency situations. Meals are also organized at these points during this period.

Now more than 10,000 points are deployed across the country, of which more than 1,200 are located in Kyiv.

Backup generation and connectionThe Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Development and the State Energy Inspectorate were instructed to maximally simplify the connection of cogeneration plants, modular boiler houses, gas turbine and gas piston plants for increasing distributed generation.

Backup power and generatorsThe Ministry of Development, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Emergency Service and military administrations analyze the need for generators and other backup equipment by region during the day.

“Equipment must be quickly redistributed to where it is most needed – to ensure the operation of life support facilities,” Svyridenko said.

Revival of residential buildings in Kyiv and Kyiv regionIn the capital and Kyiv region, the following will be analyzed during the day:

• the state of heat, electricity, gas and water supply of residential buildings;
• separately – houses with electric heating, where there is currently no electricity supply.

For residents of buildings in the most difficult situation, backup power sources, water delivery and other support are provided.

Houses with electric heatingThe government plans to classify residential buildings with electric heating as critical infrastructure to ensure constant heating.

Rational consumption of electricityAll regional military administrations and Kyiv city military administrations must reduce electricity consumption during the day, in particular, limit the external lighting of buildings and territories, advertising lighting, and excessive street lighting.

“Coordination and control over the implementation of all these decisions is carried out by the Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal,” added the head of the government.

The situation in the power system is the main newsAs UNIAN wrote, in January of this year, Russia intensified its shelling of Kyiv’s energy infrastructure. On January 9, the Russians attacked the capital’s largest thermal power plants – CHP-5 and CHP-6. As a result, half of Kyiv was temporarily without heat. About 400 houses in the capital remained without heating.

Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Research Center, said that Kyiv is currently experiencing the most difficult energy situation since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

The New York Times wrote that this winter, Russian attacks on Kyiv’s energy infrastructure became the most destructive during the entire war. Russia changed its strategy and focused on isolating and destroying the energy supply of Kyiv, Odesa and the Dnipro.

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