Power on 20 October: limits nationwide, 2,147 strikes on energy since July and $7.7bn in business losses

Tuesday’s schedules

On Tuesday, 20 October, from 06:00 to 23:59, power limitation schedules for industry and business will apply in all regions of Ukraine, grid operator Ukrenergo said. In some regions hourly outages for all categories of consumers, including households, will be applied over the same hours, covering 1 to 2 queues.

The reason is the aftermath of massive Russian attacks on energy facilities. Ukrenergo warns that the situation may change because of shelling, so exact schedules for a specific address should be checked on the pages of local distribution system operators (oblenergos). The company also urges people to use electricity sparingly when it is available.

28 substations in one wave of attacks

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, during the latest wave of strikes Russia hit 28 substations and other important energy facilities. Repair work is under way everywhere and power is gradually being restored. At a conference call the prime minister reported on preparing infrastructure for the heating season. Zelensky also said Ukraine is increasing orders for gun turrets, which have proved effective against Shaheds, and instructed the foreign ministry to work with the Baltic states on support for Ukraine’s logistics.

Koretskyi: 2,147 strikes since 16 July

Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi told BBC News Ukrainian that since 16 July, when the renewed government took office, not a single day has passed without attacks on the energy sector. “There have already been 2,147, many times more than last year. Even before winter begins, the enemy is trying to destroy key life-support facilities,” he said. According to the prime minister, the work done under resilience plans is helping the system hold.

The government is building distributed generation, building up stocks of spare transformers and equipment with partners to replace damaged units quickly, and strengthening back-up power for critical facilities, including water pumping stations. Koretskyi urged Ukrainians to use state support programmes and, where possible, install back-up power systems at home.

Business: $7.7bn in direct losses

This year Russian strikes have caused Ukrainian businesses $7.7 billion in direct losses, and more than 1 million square metres of warehouses, production and logistics premises have been destroyed or damaged, Koretskyi said. “Despite this, the economy is working,” he stressed. The state is providing premises to entrepreneurs for relocating and dispersing production, and 18 billion hryvnias have been budgeted this year to subsidise interest under the “Affordable loans 5-7-9%” programme. Because ships calling at Ukrainian ports cannot obtain international insurance due to the high risks, the state is covering part of the losses: the Cabinet has approved a guarantee mechanism covering up to 80% of damage caused to civilian vessels by attacks.

Regions

In Mykolaiv region an attack on energy infrastructure on 19 October left 79 settlements — more than 55,000 customers — without electricity. By the evening, according to the regional administration, power had been restored to half of them, but almost 24,000 customers were still without electricity. In Khmelnytskyi region a strike on an energy facility cut power to many consumers, and late in the evening drones twice attacked an energy facility in Lviv region.

How to prepare

• check your queue on your oblenergo’s website or chatbot and follow updates throughout the day;
• charge power banks and torches while the power is on, and keep a supply of drinking water;
• do not switch on several powerful appliances at once when power returns, to avoid overloading the grid.