Ukraine faces power crisis as Russia targets energy infrastructure

On Wednesday morning, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine warned of a potential power shortage following Russian missile attacks and has appealed to companies to reduce their consumption. The ministry has assured that individual consumer supplies will remain unchanged.

"Following another massive attack on the energy system (including power plants), it is possible today to apply restrictions (on the power supply) for industrial consumers between 5 PM and 10 PM GMT," the ministry said on Telegram.

At the same time, it appealed to citizens to use electricity sparingly during peak hours.

"This is necessary for the stable operation of the system, which has been seriously damaged during the recent shelling; it will also allow not to limit power consumption by individual consumers," – explained the statement.

In the morning and night attacks using aviation and drones, Russia struck energy infrastructure facilities in the Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

Since the beginning of the invasion, Russia has conducted massive missile attacks on critical infrastructure, primarily on transmission networks and power plants in Ukraine.

Russia aims to destroy Ukraine’s energy potential by attacking not just large and important power plants but also transmission networks, hubs, and energy corridors.

Ukraine has one of the largest power systems in Europe. About half of the capacity comes from thermal power plants. Most use hard coal, but a significantly smaller portion of thermal power plants also burn gas and mazut – lists the Energy Forum. The problem is that those with the greatest potential are located in the eastern and central parts of the country, in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro. Some have come under the control of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics.

The June 2023 explosion of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, which ultimately lost its potential, was a significant blow to Ukraine's energy and one of the biggest ecological disasters of this war.

The safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains a challenge. With its four nuclear power plants, Ukraine is an energy powerhouse in Europe. It is ranked third in terms of nuclear production capacity on the continent. The total installed capacity of Ukraine's 15 units is approximately 14,835 MW, which accounts for more than half of the electricity produced in Ukraine.