Last winter wasn’t the worst we have experienced. Ukrainian cities must understand that having a crazy neighbor next to them, whose goal is to increase the suffering of the civilian population, they must be prepared that they will try to ruin our every day.
This was emphasized by Svyatoslav Pavlyuk, executive director of the Association “Energy-Efficient Cities of Ukraine” during the panel discussion “Protection of critical infrastructure during the future restructuring of the energy industry.”
“It wasn’t the worst winter, because despite the difficulties, we had certain reserves: equipment, specialists. “Ukrenergo” had the opportunity to pick up the decommissioned old equipment from the warehouses and it was possible to restore certain critical elements of the electricity transmission system. We understand that such stocks have become less and less, and the possibility of such quick reactions will also be less,” therefore I wouldn’t relax,” said Svyatoslav Pavlyuk.
According to him, cities and communities should analyze and take into account the experience of last winter when preparing for the next season.
“If we talk about heating and the heating season, then this is also a question of water supply and sanitation, that is, the ability of city systems to have backup power and provide the city with water to meet the basic needs of the population… I drew attention to the fact that many systems at the level of utility companies, on building levels do not work without electricity. The biggest problem was the shortage of electricity. Efforts should be directed to this.”
According to him, in preparation for the next winter, it is extremely important to diversify the possibilities of water supply. He emphasized that each city will have its own scheme.
“For example, the Lviv water supply has more than a hundred wells, and the Mykolaiv water supply has one delivery point, which is constantly under attack and it is impossible to restore a full water supply. Each of the cities will have its own scheme. But it is important to diversify these supply opportunities: raise old wells, provide them with the presence of pumps. If there are old wells in the cities, they should be cleaned. Also test and run all systems so that everything works correctly. The same applies to sewage.”
According to the expert, the issue of heat supply is critically important.
“Regarding the issue of energy efficiency and electricity supply, these are long processes that require investment and time for implementation. Last year, massive installation of solid fuel boilers began, where the central heating system is preserved. And although the risk of not supplying gas is lower than the risk of not supplying electricity, this should also be taken care of, because the price of gas will increase. For example, in my understanding, Dubno became the first city where the entire system of centralized heat supply was transferred to local types of fuel. The installation of actual systems of such jumpers between different segments of the city’s heat supply makes it possible to switch to others in case of damage to one.”
A good example is the installation of mobile boiler rooms.
“This is the right approach. We recommend putting special inserts in the places of potential installation of such mobile boilers now to be ready if there is a cold winter. And you have another method of heat supply. It is also necessary to make sure that the houses have backup power sources or lay separate lines that would actually be such backup power. Otherwise, we will have a situation when the heating works, but the circulation pumps don’t work, and heat is supplied to the house, because the boiler house took care of it, and the house is unable to receive this heat. There were such cases this year.”
The expert also says that it is necessary to take care of the generators now.
“Last year it wasn’t possible to buy a generator. They were incredibly expensive. Ukrainian business tried hard and we overcrowded our market. All these devices are now on the market, so many of them have been imported that they are already being sold at cost price and below. Therefore, in my opinion, now is a good time to buy a battery pack, generator, inverter for your house, for your condominium, to be ready for winter. I emphasize that cities should approach their energy system as a multi-fuel system, that is, you shouldn’t rely only on electricity or only on gas or only on local types of fuel. There should be a multi-system multi-fuel approach. I would pay attention to all these things right now and prepare for the next pitch of the season. It will hardly be easier.”
The event is held within the framework of the EUROSCOPE project of the “MATRA” Program/”Key principles of Ukraine’s effective path to the EU: monitoring, cooperation, education”.
The EUROSCOPE project investigates Ukraine’s approach to EU membership, in particular, through the analysis of Ukrainian legislation for compliance with the EU acquis and advocacy among stakeholders.
