All Ukrainian nuclear plants, except for Zaporizhzhya, working at planned capacity, says Ukrenergo
The restoration of the power system after the Russian missile attack is still in progress (Photo:Укренерго / Facebook)
All Ukrainian power nuclear plants apart from the Russian-captured Zaporizhzhya Power Nuclear Plant (ZNPP) had reached their planned output levels as of 11.00 a.m. on Dec. 18, Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s power grid operator, reported on Facebook.
Repair work on Ukrainian energy infrastructure is ongoing, the company said.
Ukrenergo added that the volumes of electricity consumption have grown on Sunday and caused a greater shortfall in the system compared to Saturday.
"The reason is both energy infrastructure's damage after the ninth missile attack (on Dec.16) and the seasonal temperature drop," the message reads.
Therefore, all regional centers of Ukrenergo have been informed of their maximum limits of consumption.
"If they are exceeded, emergency shutdowns may be applied," the message from the company reads.
Urgent emergency repair work on distribution networks and at power plants is in process across all Ukraine. However, the harsh winter weather conditions make the tasks more difficult.
On Dec. 16, Russia launched a new mass wave of missile strikes against Ukraine, targeting energy facilities in a number of oblasts. Russia launched a total of 74 missiles, with 60 of them being downed by Ukrainian air defenses.
Power and water supplies, as well as heating, were disrupted across Ukraine.
It was reported on Dec. 17 that Ukraine's energy system was suffering from a major power shortage.
Russia started a campaign in October to destroy Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, with the aim of denying Ukrainians power, water and heating supplies during the winter months.
Several mass Russian missile attacks have since struck Ukraine. The government in Kyiv says about half of the country’s energy grid has been damaged, and widespread power, water and heating outages have affected millions of Ukrainians.
The Kremlin hopes that its attacks will cause the Ukrainian population to put pressure on their government to agree a ceasefire with the Russians.
Russia desperately needs a ceasefire in order to rebuild its military, which has been badly mauled by 10 months of fighting in Ukraine.
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