While the enemy gathers forces for attacks, there’s time to live without power outages – an expert

Over the past day, the enemy targeted civilian energy infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions.

Riabtsev, an expert on oil and energy markets, spoke about the impact of these attacks and the upcoming situation with power outages during a broadcast on "Hromadske Radio":

“When it comes to drones, they hit wherever they land. Given that most of these threats are now being intercepted by Ukrainians, the damage often comes from falling debris.”

The debris from the enemy drones may hit anything, occasionally damaging power lines, insulators, small transformer installations, and other equipment, says Riabtsev. He adds that these incidents “disturb the locals,” but energy workers quickly eliminate them and repair equipment.

“We should be grateful to the energy workers for their efforts,” he said.

Regarding the energy system’s operation, the expert noted that there wasn’t a growing deficit in the system. There are currently no scheduled outages, though reserves are decreasing as the weather worsens.

“There is less sunlight. However, despite high consumption, Ukrenergo reports that there’s enough electricity for all consumers. I was asked to revise my forecast to reflect only one series of outages for October and September, but I refused because my predictions remain accurate,” Riabtsev explained.

He adds that the balance between power generation and consumption is delicate but stable. The ongoing work suggests that this balance will be maintained. Although further Russian attacks cannot be ruled out, energy workers and defense forces are preparing for them.

“Relevant instructions have been issued. The energy situation is under control. Everyone understands that there are two fronts – the hot one and the energy one. Victory on one is impossible without victory on the other,” Riabtsev stated.

At present, the forecasts are more or less positive, he said, though another massive Russian attack could change this.

“For such attacks, they need to gather their means of destruction. Each missile needs to be carefully prepared. While they’re doing this, we have some time to live without outages,” he noted.

However, with the start of the heating season, the forecast worsens slightly.

“During this period, we will have scheduled power outages. And they will be significant. We could be without power for 10–12 hours when the temperature drops below freezing,” the expert predicted.

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