Winter under fire: the government steps up protection of the energy sector and heating
This was announced by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko following the ninth meeting of the Coordination Centre.
The first phase of construction to protect critical infrastructure facilities is due to be completed in Ukraine by 1 June.
According to Yulia Svyrydenko, the government, together with the heads of regional military administrations, has updated the list of facilities within the Regional Resilience Plans and approved further work in line with the ‘Fortress Country’ concept.
UAH 22.1 billion has already been allocated for the implementation of physical protection measures. Of this amount, UAH 8.9 billion has already been spent.
The funds are being used to complete transitional projects and to advance new projects identified in regional plans.
Separately, the meeting discussed additional protection for substations against Russian FPV drones.
Boiler rooms for communities
The second phase of preparations concerns heat supply.
In early April, the government allocated 424.8 million UAH to the regions to connect 70 modular boiler houses that are already in place in communities.
Their total capacity is 316 MW. Installation work is scheduled to begin on 1 June.
The government also recently allocated a further 3 billion UAH from the state budget’s reserve fund for the purchase and installation of 216 new modular boiler houses in the regions and Kyiv.
Such boiler houses are needed so that communities can quickly provide heat to hospitals, schools, residential buildings and other important facilities in the event of damage to the centralised infrastructure.
Distributed generation
As part of the Resilience Plans, 319 MW of distributed generation has already been commissioned in Ukraine since 1 March.
Installation has also begun on gas-fired power generation units with a total capacity of a further 541 MW.
By the end of the year, the government plans to add a total of 1.5 GW of distributed generation.
This should reduce communities’ dependence on large energy facilities, which remain targets for Russian attacks.
Backup power for water and heating
The meeting also specifically addressed the provision of backup power sources for heat and water supply facilities.
The greatest need currently remains in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Sumy regions.
Svyrydenko instructed the Ministry of Development to keep this issue under constant review.
Preparations for winter
According to the Prime Minister, systematic preparation for winter remains one of the government’s key priorities.
This involves not only repairing or purchasing equipment, but also creating a more resilient model for communities to operate under during potential attacks: with protected facilities, backup power supplies, local boiler rooms and distributed generation.
Follow us on Telegram
