Russia struck a gas production facility in the Kharkiv region; hostilities have caused power outages in three regions

Russia attacked a gas production facility in the Kharkiv region, causing a fire at the site, the Naftogaz Group reported on October 12. Due to damage to energy equipment resulting from hostilities, as of the morning of October 12 there were new power outages in three regions, the Ministry of Energy and NPC Ukrenergo reported. This was reported by UNN.

Gas production

Overnight, Russia attacked the Naftogaz Group’s gas production infrastructure in the Kharkiv region. The strike by a jet drone caused a fire

As Naftogaz stated, "the company’s employees were in a shelter during the shelling. No one was injured"

"The attack damaged critical equipment. Our employees are doing everything possible to eliminate the consequences of the strike as quickly as possible and prevent risks to the stable operation of the energy system", - acting Chairman of the Naftogaz Management Board Serhii Fedorenko said.

"Currently, Group specialists are working to eliminate the emergency situation and repair the damage at the facility", the statement said.

What is happening with the energy system

There are also consequences of the hostilities for the energy system, the Ministry of Energy reported.

"Due to the hostilities, some consumers in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions remain temporarily without electricity", the Ministry of Energy reported on October 12.

Where the security situation permits, crews are already working to restore power. Energy workers are doing everything possible to return electricity to Ukrainians’ homes as quickly as possible, the ministry said.

Bad weather also caused interruptions in power supply.

"Due to bad weather, 63 settlements in the Ternopil, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytskyi regions remain without electricity. Repair crews are working to restore power", the ministry reported.

Outage schedules

"As a result of grid restrictions caused by previous Russian attacks, hourly outage schedules and capacity limitation schedules for industry and businesses are being implemented today in a number of regions of Ukraine. This is a necessary step that helps prevent grid overloads and protect the system from large-scale accidents", the Ministry of Energy reported.

"To prevent overloads of equipment damaged by previous Russian shelling, capacity limitation schedules for industry and hourly outage schedules (up to 1.5 rounds) for all categories of consumers are being implemented today in some regions from 06:00 until the end of the day", NPC Ukrenergo clarified.

The Ministry of Energy emphasized, however, that "operational information about the consequences of attacks and the condition of the energy system is published exclusively on official resources, without unnecessary detail. Please use only verified sources and do not disseminate materials that could help the enemy".

Consumption

According to Ukrenergo, electricity consumption has increased. Today, October 12, as of 09:30, it was 1.7% higher than at the same time on the previous working day—Friday, October 9. The reasons for the changes are the smaller scale of the restrictions applied, as well as cloudy weather and rain in some regions, which reduces the efficiency of household solar power plants and consequently increases the amount of electricity consumed from the grid. Yesterday, October 11, the daily consumption peak was recorded in the evening. It was 1.9% higher than the peak recorded on the previous Sunday—October 4.

"Please limit the use of high-powered electrical appliances from 17:00 to 22:00", Ukrenergo urged.