Video shows state of Ukrainian thermal power plants after Russian attacks: it will take two more months to clear away debris

Economichna Pravda — Tuesday, 14 May 2024, 18:58

The debris is still being removed at the Zmiivska and Trypilska thermal power plants following the Russian attacks on 22 March and 11 April – this process will be ongoing for at least a month and a half-two months more.

Source: Yevhenii Harkavyi, technical director of Centrenergo, major electric and thermal energy-producing company in Ukraine’s central eastern regions

Quote: "As of today, our activity has been completely halted. Electric energy and thermal energy are not being produced, the cities dependent on the power plants are without water supply at the moment.

The main activity of the company has been halted. As of today, 100% of power generation by our power plants has been disrupted.

So far we are yet to figure out the exact scale of destruction. The priority task is to remove the debris, preserve our staff and keep working. No employee has been fired as of today."

Harkavyi added that the process of removal of the debris would be ongoing for a month and a half, perhaps two months.

"The debris is indeed massive. These are hundreds, even thousands of tonnes of concrete which must be removed, preserving the equipment which has not been destroyed," he added.

"These attacks led to the destruction of main and auxiliary expensive equipment – turbines, generators, transformers, considerable damage and fires.

The generators are the most expensive (they cost almost 500 million hryvnias – US$12,600,000), transformers (about 200 million hryvnias – US$5 million), turbines…So this is very expensive equipment," Harkavyi revealed.

Background:

  • As a result of a Russian attack on the morning of 11 April, the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant was completely destroyed.
  • The Trypilska Thermal Power Plant provided almost 3 million people with power and was the largest energy supplier in Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Cherkasy Oblasts.
  • Centrenergo consisted of three thermal power plants which basically were the only assets of the company: the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant in Kyiv Oblast, the Zmiivska Thermal Power Plant in Kharkiv Oblast and the Vuhlehirska Thermal Power Plant in Donetsk Oblast.
  • On 22 March 2024, the Zmiivska Thermal Power Plant was completely destroyed. On 25 July 2022, the Russians occupied the Vuhlehirska plant. Thus, Centrenergo lost 100% of its power generation.

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