On Friday, October 9, hourly power outage schedules will be applied throughout the day in some regions of Ukraine. UNN reported this, citing Ukrenergo. The company stressed that the consumption restriction measures are "forced."
What will be in effect
From 00:00 to 23:59, two types of restrictions will be in effect simultaneously in the specified regions:
- power limits for industry and businesses;
- hourly outages for all categories of consumers, ranging from 0.5 to 2 queues.
A queue is a group of consumers that is switched off according to a schedule. So, depending on the situation in a particular region, anywhere from half of one to two such groups may be left without power at the same time. The statement quoted by UNN does not list the regions. It is best to check your queue and outage times on the website or in the app of your local power distribution company.
What preceded this
The reason for the restrictions is the consequences of Russian missile and drone attacks on energy facilities. According to Ukrenergo, the Russian army struck one of the energy facilities important for Kyiv. As a result, several elements of the power grid went offline in the capital, and in some districts a large number of consumers experienced power supply disruptions.
Two phenomena should be distinguished. Emergency outages are a result of the strike itself and are not planned in advance. Schedules are a way to distribute the power shortage so that the grid does not fail even further. It is the second tool that applies on October 9.
What's next
The schedules that Ukrenergo announces in advance depend on how quickly damaged elements are restored and on new attacks. If repairs in Kyiv go faster than forecast and there are no new strikes, the restrictions may be reduced before the end of the day. If the load on the grid does not fall, the round-the-clock regime may continue. Whether power engineers manage to bring the disconnected elements back into operation before the evening consumption peak will determine how realistic this scenario is.
