Winter Arrives, Ukrainians Rely On Alternative Energy Sources To Overcome Power Outages

JAKARTA - Ukrainians rely on alternative energy sources as winter arrives, while the war with Russia continues and attacks on energy facilities cause power outages.

Standing on the roof of a 16-story residential apartment building in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Valerii Pyndyk appointed several rows of solar panels.

Pyndyk hopes the installation - one of the first of its kind by residents in Kyiv - will help about 1,000 families living in the building pass through a winter that may be Ukraine's toughest winter since the start of the Russian invasion.

"Idenya was born when the electricity went out in the summer. We - the housing association board - realize that if the electricity goes out in the summer, then in winter the electricity will not be shorter but longer," said Pyndyk who heads the association.

The previous two war winters had been challenging, but Russia has now intensified its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with at least 11 major missile and drone attacks since March.

About half of Ukraine's power plant went out and distribution networks were also damaged.

In Kyiv, an eight-hour daily power outage is common. People plan their days based on the time when electricity is scheduled to be available, including waiting in cafes until the elevator works if they live near the top of a tall building.

Several residents and businesses have rushed to install new power generation capacities in an effort to access energy independently of the central energy system.

"Overall in Ukraine there is a stable trend towards energy independence, starting with clients (consumers) are small and ending up in business," said Serhiy Kovalenko, CEO of Yasno, a leading energy supplier.

Analysts say the strategy includes more electricity imports from neighboring countries of Ukraine in the West, purchasing generators and alternative energy sources including solar panels, batteries, and generators of small gas turbines.

Yasno, which supplies electricity and gas to more than 3.5 million consumers and to 100,000 businesses, provides options that include solar panels and storage batteries as well as inverters.

"The demand is very high," Kovalenko told Reuters. "We have installed this dead season of up to eight megawatts, next year we will install it up to 30-35 megawatts," he explained.

Eight megawatts are enough to supply about a dozen companies in this case, the company said.

The Russian attack has damaged or destroyed all of Ukraine's hydro and thermal power plants.

In monetary terms, the total damage to Ukraine's energy sector exceeds US$56 billion, including US$16 billion in direct physical damage and more than US$40 billion in indirect financial losses, according to estimates from the Kyiv School of Economics.

Ukraine itself is increasingly dependent on nuclear power plants, which make it difficult to balance the amount of electricity on the grid, especially during peak hours of the morning and evening as retail consumption soars.

Ukraine has tried to maintain its energy system by building a protective structure, establishing a group of mobile drone hunters and working with partners to bring in more air defense systems.

However, there is still a lack of sufficient resources to protect facilities across the country.

After any Russian attack, the government, energy companies, engineers, and Ukrainian partners are scrambling to restore and rebuild what they can. Winter weather could complicate the problem.

"If winter arrives, consumption will be much more than last winter. Last winter, maximum consumption was 18 gigawatts (GW), so this year we estimate that consumption cold weather will be 19 gigawatts," said Olena Lapenko, general manager for energy security at the Kyiv-based think tank, DIXI group.