Ukraine Fears Rolling Blackouts

The majority of power units at thermal power plants in Ukraine were hut down due to a lack of coal, Verkhovna Rada MP Ivan Krulko said. According to him, there was a threat of rolling blackouts. In Ukraine, more than half of the power units at thermal power plants have been shut down. This was announced on the air of the Nash TV channel on Thursday evening, November 4, by Verkhovna Rada MP from the Batkivshchyna faction, the first deputy chairman of the budget committee Ivan Krulko. “We ... have 88 power units of TPPs that generate electricity used to balance nuclear power. Today, out of 88 power units, 37 are functioning,” Krulko said, noting that half of the power units do not work due to lack of fuel. Ivan Krulko expressed concern that due to the lack of electricity the country may face rolling blackouts, including in hospitals. Coal Supplies from the Russian Federation Terminated On November 1, Russia decided to stop supplying thermal coal to Ukraine. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation explained this move by the growing domestic demand in the autumn-winter period. However, supplies of other grades of coal to Ukraine will continue, the ministry said. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy reported that the guaranteed reserves of coal at the country’s state-owned thermal power plants, which normally should be 150.5 thousand tons, are below this figure by 50 thousand tons, that is, by a third. According to the ministry, only the most necessary equipment has been operating at state-owned thermal power plants for the last two months. Ukraine has been witnessing a coal deficit since last summer due to an abnormal drop in electricity prices.