In Ukraine, there is 4,5 times less than the required amount of coal for an uninterrupted supply of electricity.
Alexei Orzhel, who served as Minister of Energy of Ukraine in 2019-2020, stated this on the air of the Kyiv TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“At the beginning of September (2020 – ed.) there were 2 million, 638 thousand tons of coal. Now in October, when the heating season began, we have 593 thousand,” Orzhel said.
“This is 4,5 times less,” the TV presenter determined.
“2,7 (million tons - ed.) should be, in fact, 593. Let's be honest. There are 90 thousand tons at the Lugansk Thermal Power Plant, which is limited in its output into the general system, and about 150 thousand tons are coal that does not burn. The so-called “sole” lay somewhere for a long time, which needs to be illuminated with natural gas so that it burns. So calculate how much we really have,” the ex-minister stated.
“See what is hidden behind these numbers? You spoke about 593 thousand tons of coal. I said about 4,5 times. What does this mean for people? – asked the presenter.
“This means that in the system there are such nodal points, these are our power plants. And a situation may arise when it will not be able to produce the necessary power, that is, it will not be able to work. As a result, the corresponding indicators in the system drop and circuit breakers turn on, which turn off parts of the systems,” Orzhel explained.
“And then we understand that if parts of the systems are turned off, then houses and apartments are turned off,” continued the channel employee.
“Yes,” agreed the ex-minister. “And so now it was necessary, most likely yesterday, to sit down with governors, sit down with ministries and decide on the planned shutdowns of industry.”