Situation with Power Supply in Ukraine: How Ukrainians Live in Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa and Other Cities
Read more to find out how Ukrainians are trying to cope with everyday problems caused by Russia.
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Ukrainians in towns and cities, whose infrastructure was damaged by Russian strikes, are trying to survive without power supply, water supply and heat supply People resort to life hacks to make their lives a little easier.
Read more about the recent developments in Dnipro, Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv that suffered the most from the recent strikes in TSN’s feature story.
Situation in Dnipro
In Dnipro, there are some “record-breaking” houses that have spent over 5 days without power supply and over 2 days without heat and water supply during the last blackout in the city. Local resident Iryna says that the hardest thing was lack of network access, because she could not work. However, she recalls, the support of neighbors made miracles.
"On the second day of the power outage, our neighbor on the first floor wrote in the house chat that he had a generator and that people might come to him if they needed to recharge. We had our own improvised “Invincibility Point”. For several hours, everyone was standing and talking, that was the mood. We will survive", local resident Irina Rudenko says.
When you spend five days without power supply, your start to think clearer, Iryna jokes and shows the stocks of water and handmade lamps. She found this lifehack online and bought diode lamps and batteries. It turned out cheap, costing only 30 UAH, but still shining bright.
Most boiler and pumping stations in Dnipro are now in operation. However, emergency shutdowns may occur due to lack of electricity. Therefore, everyone is advised to have a strategic supply of water. Still, the local authorities promise to do their best in order to ensure uninterrupted heating .
"Given such a difficult situation, this year we have implemented a special solution to augment our heating system so that in case of a complete blackout we do not repeat the fate Alchevsk," Deputy Mayor of Dnipro Mykhailo Lysenko says.
Healthcare facilities in Dnipro are also ready for blackouts. All of them are provided with generators and the stock of fuel for at least a month. The situation with electric transport is more complicated. The operation of all electric vehicles was suspended after the missile strike on December 16th. Some railways have already started to rust. Yesterday trolleybuse and tram traffic was partially resumed during rush hours.
Situation in Kyiv
The situation with public utilities in the capital is one of the most difficult in the country. The enemy has damaged more than 60% of transformers in the city. Because of this, some districts have spent several days without electricity. The local authorities apply emergency blackouts that follow no schedule. Lack of electricity leads to interruptions with water supply, heating, Internet access and communication. A lot of people go to the Invincibility Points. The Kyiv City State Administration does not rule out a possibility that the enemy may continue strikes and plunge the city into total darkness. In this case, only critical infrastructure facilities, hospitals, pumping stations and Invincibility Points will be powered from the grid, and the city will have to stop the subway.
According to the city government, the biggest challenge is the centralized heating system. In case of Force Majeure, they consider temporarily draining heating pipes or ensure circulation of the cold water in order to avoid freezing. People are advised to make a stock of potable water and charge their batteries if possible.
Situation in Odesa
Three-day-long blackout has brought lack of power supply, water supply, heat supply and interruptions with network. Three weeks ago, Odesa survived the missile strike with the worst consequences for local grid. Two thirds of the energy supply was lost. Electric transport was completely stopped in the city, and the only islands of stability were the Invincibility Points, where people could warm up and drink tea. That difficult time changed Odesa residents, recalls Ivanna, a student from Odesa.
"People were helping each other. They brought chargers, various wires. They were inventing something. It was really impressive," the girl says.
Realizing that this strike may not be the last, Odesa residents have started to prepare for life without public utilities.
"Well, we have water stocks just in case. We can cope with darkness, we have candles. Children are afraid in the dark, but we always stay nearby," a local resident says.
Currently, the blackouts in the city last for several hours instead of several day. Water and heat supply is now successfully restored. The operation of heating stations is now the main priority, the Odesa Mayor's Office says. Now all one hundred and fifty large and small boiler houses are working steadily. However, the authorities are urgently looking for 11 extra large-capacity generators for backup operation of large city boiler houses. Four have already been found.
"If there is heat, we will arrange everything else, because water supply can be provided alternatively, water trucks can be used as a last resort, but if there is no heat, it will be a catastrophic situation," Deputy Mayor of Odesa Oleh Bryndak said.
Situation in Kharkiv
In Kharkiv, the power supply was restored to almost all domestic consumers, however the city is facing regular scheduled rolling blackouts. The situation with water supply is somewhat more complicated, and the water supply in some districts haven’t been yet resumed. Utility company connect water supply mainly to the apartment blocks, where most apartments are occupies to make sure that accidental pipe fracture will not cause major flooding.
The worst situation is now in Saltivka. Many houses in this districts have been damaged by Russian artillery shells. They are now completely cut off from utilities. People only occasionally come there to check whether their property has survived.
Another 50 houses that were destroyed or damaged by enemy shells have not been connected to centralized heating. More than 2 thousand people from there were resettled to dormitories by local authorities. However, there are those who decided to stay in their apartments.
"We may turn on the gas in the oven... If you cook something in the kitchen, it’s getting warm there. You may also use a heater, if there is power supply. It’s harder when you are in blackout, though ", a local resident says.
The situation in the de-occupied parts of the region is far more complicated. However, as of now, the utility engineers have managed to restore power supply to over 80% of houses in the area.
Situation in Mykolaiv
The city Mykolaiv with population of over five hundred thousand people has survived without normal centralized water supply for almost 9 months. The invaders blew up the pipes that supplied water from the Dnipro. A month after that, the water started to flow from the taps, but it was salty and unsuitable for drinking. This water can be used only for technical needs, and rusty taps in the apartment are the best explanation why.
The high content of salt in the water causes often breakthroughs and emergencies.
The local authorities to restore fresh water supply in the city soon. At Meanwhile, the situation with power supply and heating is relatively stable in Mykolaiv. The power outages mostly follow the rolling blackout schedule, and centralized heating system works normally in most of the districts. People are sympathetic to the utility problems. They are sure that after the victory, the usual comfort will return to their homes.
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