The additional 9 MW of capacity, reported by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, partially cover Kyiv's needs, but in the context of the city, this is only a small part of the necessary reserve. Andriy Zakrevsky, Deputy Director of the Association of Energy and Natural Resources of Ukraine, stated this in a comment to UNN.
9 MW is about 1% of Kyiv's needs
Commenting on the Prime Minister's statement about the commissioning of an additional 9 MW of capacity in the capital, the expert drew attention to the systematic nature of such decisions and their scale for the city.
If we consider that weekly reports on the state of the energy system and reserve capacities only started to be issued the week before last, this is normal. If such reports appear regularly, throughout all weeks of the year, this will be the same work that we expect from the government regarding the provision of large-scale electrification in Ukraine.
According to him, the capital's needs for emergency and backup capacities are significantly greater.
For normal life in Kyiv, approximately 200–400 MW of emergency and backup capacities are needed. To fully cover risks in conditions of constant attacks, at least a gigawatt is needed.
At the same time, the expert emphasized that the current volumes can be considered as a starting stage.
"If we talk about how it should be further, then now we have covered approximately 0.8% of Kyiv's needs. 0.8% for 52 weeks is half of what the city actually needs. This is a normal pace for new capacities to appear every week," the expert noted.
"Now we can cover several blocks, hospitals or schools"
Explaining where the additional 9 MW could be directed, the expert outlined the practical dimension of such capacity.
"9 megawatts is a large student campus, or 2–3 hospitals, or 2–3 schools, or a very large school," the expert noted.
According to him, it is primarily about local infrastructure reinforcement.
This is definitely several blocks for providing such infrastructure. If it is necessary to maintain pressure in heat carriers or the supply of wastewater, this is several blocks so that people can be supplied.
At the same time, he stressed that this is not enough for the capital.
But this, I repeat, within Kyiv, is approximately 1% of what is needed. There should be at least 40–50% of such percentages in Kyiv for the city to be provided with everything necessary.
Warming reduces the load and helps the system
Assessing the impact of warming on the energy system, the expert noted that rising temperatures have several positive effects.
When the temperature rises, the load on the energy system decreases. In spring, we fill the upper reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants, and this helps a lot when they need to be used during peak hours - in the morning or in the evening.
He also drew attention to the gas balance.
We are starting to fill underground gas storage facilities, and at the same time, we are buying less natural gas on the market. This provides significant savings and increases energy security.
Separately, he mentioned the technical challenges of the transition period.
When we cross zero, it's a problem for repair crews: ice, slush, snow. But on the other hand, water in houses stops freezing. It may be cold in apartments, but there will no longer be problems with water and sewage.