Energy infrastructure is Russia’s primary target ahead of winter. The enemy is deliberately striking transformers and high-voltage transmission networks that carry electricity between regions. As a result, the power system has temporarily lost some of its capacity to transmit electricity to consumers.
How Does This Affect the Introduction of Electricity Restrictions?
Most of Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity is currently concentrated in the west of the country, where nuclear power plants are located and electricity imports from Europe enter the country. This region has the potential to generate more electricity than it consumes. The east, south and centre, where generation capacity has been severely damaged by Russian attacks, face electricity shortages.
Why Can’t More Electricity Simply Be Transmitted to Areas Where It Is Needed?
Transmitting electricity from western Ukraine to Kyiv or Kharkiv requires high-voltage transmission lines and autotransformers. Russia is deliberately targeting these facilities.
As a result, damage to the main transmission routes leaves electricity effectively “trapped” in the regions where it is generated or imported. This is why there may be no restrictions in western Ukraine, while central, southern and eastern regions face more severe shortages. The capacity of the existing networks, which were not designed to handle such circumstances, is simply insufficient to transmit these large volumes of electricity.
The situation is further complicated not only by large-scale attacks, but also by local strikes in frontline areas and equipment failures caused by system overload. Equipment breaks down every day, and energy workers repair it every day.
Therefore, differences in the duration of power outages are not a matter of preference, but a consequence of physical limitations.
Energy workers are repairing damaged equipment and doing everything possible to increase the capacity to transmit electricity. At the same time, Russian attacks continue daily, and repair work can proceed only when the security situation allows.
We thank all consumers for their understanding and for using electricity responsibly. During periods of high demand, this helps reduce the load on the power system.
