The light will remain even after the shelling: when will Ukrainians be able to get rid of blackouts?

Kyiv needs approximately 800 million euros in investments to ensure the stable functioning of the electricity supply, even in the event of new, massive attacks. This opinion was expressed by the former chairman of the board of NPC Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, on the air of the program “Beyond the Headlines” on “Hromadske Radio”.

The expert commented on the statement by the mayor of the capital, Vitaliy Klitschko, that the use of cogeneration plants will not allow the city to provide heat fully. According to him, the structure of Kyiv’s heat supply is already quite diverse. Part of the city receives heat from large thermal power plants, such as CHP-5, CHP-6, and Darnytska CHP, while approximately 180 boiler houses supply the rest of the city. This indicates that there are no technical obstacles to transitioning from a single powerful source to multiple smaller ones.

The situation is similar in the power industry. Kudrytskyi notes that the Ukrainian power system can integrate thousands of small power plants that would benefit the entire city.

The expert emphasized that Kyiv’s daily electricity consumption during winter peak hours is about 2,000 megawatts, which is equivalent to the load of two nuclear power units. One container gas-piston unit produces approximately 2.3-2.5 MW. To cover the capital’s maximum needs, about 800 such units, combined into small power plants, will be needed.

He added that providing the city with such sources in full is impractical. However, connecting even a quarter or a third of the required capacity will ensure the uninterrupted operation of critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and electric transport, even after shelling.

Kudrytsky believes that Kyiv will remain part of the country’s overall energy system, despite serious accidents, but decentralized capacity will increase the city’s resilience. The time required to install such power plants ranges from 6 to 10 months, depending on the complexity of the connection.