O&M

Ukraine Grid Operator Issues Call for Help, Needs Equipment to Keep Lights On

DTEK, a diversified energy company that generates and distributes electricity in Ukraine, issued a call to “Western partners” for the immediate supply of various pieces of electrical equipment to restore power in its service territory.

Russian missile attacks on DTEK energy facilities on Oct. 18 killed at least one employee and injured at least seven more, while also destroying civil and energy infrastructure. The company reported that since the full-scale invasion began, 87 DTEK employees have been killed, 210 injured, 15 held captive, and one is missing.

“Russia is once again resorting to energy terrorism that may lead to a total destruction of Ukraine energy sector, leaving millions of people deprived of heat and energy supply before and through the winter,” DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said in a statement issued to POWER.

Over the past week, several of DTEK’s energy facilities have been attacked by Russian forces. On Oct. 10 and 11, three of the company’s thermal power plants (TPPs) came under attack. Another TPP got attacked on Oct. 17, and two additional attacks occurred on Oct. 18 at DTEK Energy enterprises. DTEK reported that more than 30% of Ukraine’s energy system has been damaged (Figure 1) as a result of shelling by the Russian army.

Ukraine-power-grid-damage — 1. Substation at one of the DTEK Energy thermal power plants that was damaged. (A spokesperson for the company told POWER that images of the main facilities cannot be shared due to martial law restrictions.) Courtesy: DTEK

“DTEK makes an all-out effort to restore electricity supply. However, taking the scale of destruction into account, we feel the urgent need for various electrical equipment to restore the power supply,” Timchenko said.

Due to the shelling of critical infrastructure facilities, DTEK said it is “currently in dire need of various electrical equipment to restore power supply.” The list of urgently needed equipment for DTEK Grids includes:

Mobile substation 154 kW (40 kWA transformer + set of switchgear 110, 35, 10, 6 kW).
Cables 6–10 kW with XLPE insulation (oil-paper acceptable).
Power transformers · 40-63 MWA 150/35/10 kW · 16-63 MWA (150)110/35/10 kW · 16 MWA 35/10 kW.
Switchgear · Circuit breaker 110 kW SF6 · Vacuum circuit breaker 35 kW.

The list of urgently needed equipment for DTEK Energy includes:

Circuit breaker ABB LTB-420E2 or analog I=3150A, U=400 kW, I disconnect=40 kA.
Circuit breaker HPL 245B1 or analog I=3150A, U=220 kW, I disconnect=50 kA.
Current transformer 220 kW Koncar AGU-245 1200/1U=220 kW, class 0.2S, 5P or similar.
330 kW SF6 circuit breaker type LTB 420E2.
Current transformer 330 kW.
Current transformer 330 kW ABB (busbar switch).
Coupling capacitor 110/√3 2100 F (air line 238).
Insulator IOS-35/1000.

In a statement, the company said, “Ukraine needs the help of international partners in order to rebuild its economy and infrastructure that have been destroyed [Figure 2] by Russia’s full-scale invasion. DTEK, as a Ukrainian company, is making an all-out effort in being a reliable partner when it comes to implementation of help provided by the international partners.” DTEK said anyone who can help should contact [email protected].

Ukraine-substation-damage-at-thermal-power-plant — *2. Additional damage in the substation at the DTEK TPP. Courtesy: DTEK*

—Aaron Larson is POWER’s executive editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine).