Attacks on energy grids leave southern Ukraine facing an electricity shortage

The southern, central, and eastern regions of Ukraine are experiencing electricity shortages due to shelling and damage to energy infrastructure. On Friday, October 9, the Ministry of Energy explained why shortages and the duration of outages vary from region to region.

The enemy is deliberately targeting high-voltage lines and autotransformers that carry electricity between regions. These facilities are essential for delivering power from the west of the country, including to Kyiv and Kharkiv. Damage to them has temporarily reduced the power system’s ability to transmit electricity to consumers.

At the same time, most of the country’s generating capacity is concentrated in the west. Nuclear power plants are located there, and electricity is also imported from Europe.

“As a result, damage to these ‘highways’ leaves electricity ‘trapped’ in the regions where it is generated or imported,” the Ministry of Energy explained.

This creates disparities between regions: there may be no restrictions in the west, while shortages are more acute in the central, southern, and eastern regions. The grid lacks the capacity to transmit such large volumes of electricity—it was not designed to handle this kind of load.

The situation is compounded not only by massive attacks. Local shelling continues in frontline areas, while overloading the system causes outages. Some equipment fails every day, and energy workers repair it every day.

“So, differences in the duration of outages are not a matter of anyone’s whim, but the result of physical limitations,” the Ministry of Energy emphasized.

We wrote earlier:

• Power outage schedules return due to damage to the energy grid
• Shelling left part of Mykolaiv region without power, but no restrictions are expected
• Nuclear power plants reduced output after nighttime strikes on energy infrastructure
• Energy system situation worsens: Ukrenergo’s forecast for next week
• Electricity shortage. Several days are needed to reach the level expected by December 5, says Ukrenergo