In the winter period, when the risk of power outages increases in Ukraine, residents of multi-apartment buildings, especially above the 5th floor, should think about providing autonomous power for the pumping group. This is necessary to ensure a stable supply of heat and water during power outages.
Oleh Popenko, head of the Union of Utilities Consumers, notes that hot and cold water supply systems, as well as heating in high-rise buildings above the 5th floor, run on electricity. Without electricity, these systems do not function, which can lead to a lack of water and heat, as well as serious problems with the life support of the house.
In the event of extended power outages, it is important to have a generator to support critical home systems, as well as batteries to run between generator cycles. Genadiy Ryabtsev, an energy expert, emphasizes the importance of maintaining sewage, water supply and heating systems. In particular, if the pump stops at low temperatures, the water supply system may fail and the entire equipment will need to be replaced.
Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Research Center, notes that a relatively small amount of electricity is needed to provide autonomous power for a house, and the cost of such equipment varies depending on the needs of a particular house. One generator can cost about 2 million hryvnias, and with a large number of apartments in the building, the costs can be distributed among the residents.
Volodymyr Omelchenko, director of energy programs at the Razumkov Center, said that the possible removal of the second unit of the Southern Ukrainian NPP for repair could worsen the situation with power outages. Serhiy Nagornyak, head of the subcommittee on energy conservation and energy efficiency of the Verkhovna Rada Committee, noted that the issue of providing electricity in the winter period will depend on weather conditions and the general situation in the energy sector.
