DTEK holds energy front in Ukraine, renewables are offline

Ukrainian energy group DTEK reported on Saturday that due to damage to overhead lines, renewable energy plants operated by it do not currently supply electricity to grid, but other facilities help maintain the continuity of the energy system during the country’s invasion by Russian armed forces.

DTEK said at a press briefing that as of Saturday, 15 power units of its thermal power plants (TPP) were in operation and 21 were in reserve. Only the Luganska TPP has ceased activities because of hostilities in the city of Shchastia. All mines of the company were operating normally, as well.

The company’s renewable energy assets in the regions of Zaporozhye and Dnipropetrovsk have not been producing electricity for a while, with DTEK noting that the Botievskaya, Orlovskaya and Primorskaya wind farms are completely de-energised and disconnected from their 150-kV overhead line as a result of the hostilities. The company expects them to resume operations in a few days after the needed repairs have been completed.

At the same time, the Trifonovskaya, Nikopolskaya and Pokrovskaya solar power plants have not suffered damage and were operating normally as of Saturday, but without feeding electricity into the grid. DTEK explained that system operator NPC Ukrenergo has applied restrictions for renewables “to ensure the conditions for stability and balancing of the energy system of Ukraine.”

The six wind and solar parks have a combined capacity of 1 GW, according to the company's website.

The Ukrainian energy system has been operating in isolation mode since the start of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine on February 24. It is successfully completing technical checks on its way to synchronisation with the European energy market.

DTEK noted that only employees critical for the functioning of power plants remain on-site, while the rest are working remotely.

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