New blow to power grid in Ukraine after major accident in Odesa, says PM
Ukraine PM Denys Shmyhal says Odesa facing power outage after major accident in power grid.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Saturday said that a serious accident took place at a high-voltage substation which led to widespread power outages in and around Odesa, the southern port city of Ukraine."The situation is difficult, the scale of the accident is significant, it is impossible to quickly restore power supply, in particular to critical infrastructure," wrote Shmyhal on Telegram.
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The prime minister added that the Odesa region's substation had suffered damages multiple times previously because of Russian missile strikes and that the energy minister will be soon reaching the regional capital to look into the repairs along with the CEO of the national grid operator.
Shmyhal stated that the authorities have been working to ensure that the power supply to apartment blocks and critical infrastructure is restored as soon as possible so that the homes can remain heated using electricity.
On Saturday, the temperature in Odesa, which is the main southern port city of Ukraine on the Black Sea and has a population of one million people, was at two degrees Celsius (35.6°F) and as per experts it is likely to dip below freezing temperature in the next week.
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Shmyhal said that the energy ministry of Ukraine has been ordered to scramble every possible high-power generator which is available in its nationwide inventory and send it to Odesa in a day.
He added that the foreign ministry has also been asked to request Turkey to send power ships, which are vessels that carry power plants, to the city till there is a power outage.
(With inputs from agencies)
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