Today, during the government's question hour in the Verkhovna Rada, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko denied rumors about a possible blackout in Ukraine in the winter. He noted that there is a lot of manipulation and false predictions about long power outages, and emphasized that these estimates do not correspond to reality.
"There are a lot of manipulations happening today, a lot of experts have appeared who every day throw in information about 20 hours without light, about 18 hours. In fact, they don't know anything. Therefore, all these estimates are conditional and have nothing to do with reality," Galushchenko emphasized.
According to the minister, if there are no critical strikes on the energy system, Ukraine will be able to get through the winter in normal mode.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also confirmed that the current energy situation allows us to hope for no outages. He noted that autumn and winter can be passed without serious disruptions, but the enemy will not stop attacking. Shmyhal warned that there is information about possible massive attacks on the energy system, which could complicate the situation.
Regarding readiness for the heating season, Shmyhal reported that housing and communal services facilities are 82% ready, with variations by region: in Zaporizhia region this indicator is 79%, and in Kherson region - only 54%.
What energy experts say
Volodymyr Omelchenko, Director of Energy Programs at the Razumkov Center, expressed confidence that Ukraine has a high chance of avoiding a blackout. He believes that the probability of preserving the integrity of the power system exceeds 90%. Omelchenko also noted that partial coverage of the deficit in the power system is possible by importing electricity from Europe, and that it is important to focus on restoring those generating capacities that can still be restored.
Yuriy Korolchuk, an expert at the Institute of Energy Strategies, warned of several possible scenarios, one of which includes the possibility of a power system failure.
Ukrenergo reported that at temperatures of -10 degrees, it will be difficult to ensure the balance of the energy system without outages, but an apocalyptic scenario is not inevitable.
