Damage and destruction of high-voltage elements of power transmission equipment is estimated at 55-70%, Director of the Energy Research Center Oleksandr Kharchenko said at a briefing at the Ukrainian Media Center on Friday.
The expert recalled that the main problem with the lack of electricity now is related to its transmission, not generation.
“The main problem now is the problem with the transmission system. High-voltage – we have lost about 55-75% of the key pieces of equipment, they are damaged or destroyed,” Kharchenko said.
At the same time, he said, regional low-voltage networks away from the front lines are in good condition.
National energy company Ukrenergo and the electricity transmission system operator SEPS (Slovakia) on October 2, 2018 agreed on building a new power line as an optimal solution for boosting power transmission between Ukraine and Slovakia, the press service of Ukrenergo has reported. “According to the agreements, a new 400 kV overhead line will be built, which will connect the existing 400 kV substations Mukachevo and Velke Kapusany in the single-circuit version with the possibility of further upgrading it to double-circuit in case of an increase in the volume of interstate flows,” the company said.
According to the press service, the project also envisages reconstruction of the 400 kV open switchgear at the Mukachevo substation. “In the next three or four years, at the Mukachevo 400 kV substation, it is planned to replace the existing 400/220 kV autotransformer (АТ-3) 400/220 kV (installed in 1964), as well as equipping the 400 kV complete switchgear with gas insulation,” Ukrenergo said.
Considering the condition of the existing 400 kV overhead line Mukachevo-Velke Kapusany, which has been operating since 1963, its modernization was recognized as inexpedient. The line will work until the launch of the new line.
The company recalled that this project is a candidate for projects of mutual interest (PMI), the list of which will be approved by the Council of Ministers of the Energy Community in the autumn of 2018.
BUILDING, ENERGY COMPANY, POWER LINE, POWER TRANSMISSION, SLOVAKIA'S, UKRENERGO
