Installation of the overhead line of the Crimean energy bridge. Some aspects of the construction of an energy bridge to Crimea
The Sevastopol Thermal Power Plant, located in Crimea, the purpose of which will be to reduce the load on transmission networks, will be commissioned by December 1, 2017. The Rostov Nuclear Power Plant is used as the main connection point. The main type of fuel at the Sevastopol Thermal Power Plant is natural gas. The target direction of basic generation is to provide Crimea with an independent source of electricity.
The system operator provided operating conditions for testing and commissioning of power lines at the final stage of construction of the Kuban-Crimea energy bridge. Branches of SO UES OJSC "United Dispatch Management of Energy Systems of the South" (ODU Yuga) and "Regional Dispatch Management of the Kuban Energy System" (Kuban RDU) developed and implemented the regime measures necessary for carrying out comprehensive tests and commissioning according to the cable-overhead design scheme power transmission lines (KVL) 220 kV Taman - Kamysh-Burun. Putting the latter into work
Crimean Federal District, April 14. – The third line of the energy bridge from the Unified Energy System of Russia to the Crimean Federal District was put into operation ahead of schedule. Its launch made it possible to increase the maximum power transmitted through the energy bridge from 400 to 600 MW. To increase the flow capacity, 7 energy facilities were built and modernized, the work on which was completed 13-17 months earlier than the initially approved construction schedules.
The next stage of the energy bridge to Crimea may become operational in the coming months, ahead of schedule. Chairman of the Crimean State Council Committee on State Construction and Local Self-Government Efim Fiks announced this in Kerch on February 5, writes REGNUM news agency with reference to the New Day portal.
The date December 2, 2015 will go down in the history of Crimea as the day the energy blockade ended, which lasted 11 days. This is a special event for Kerchan residents, since from the first days of the blackout our city was in the most difficult situation, receiving only three megawatts from the Kamysh-Burun thermal power plant. Energy workers have made heroic efforts to bring closer the day when electricity will flow to Crimea along the first line of the bridge laid along the bottom of the Kerch Strait. Of course, on the very first day the Crimeans did not
December 2, 2015. Commissioning work on the energy bridge, which will connect Crimea and the Russian mainland via a cable laid along the bottom of the Kerch Strait, is carried out every day. The acting head of the Kerch Distribution Zone, Esat Batalov, announced this at a morning meeting of the emergency situations headquarters. Reporting on the situation over the past night, Esat Batalov noted that in the evening the city felt a power shortage in the eastern node of the Crimean energy system: power engineers had to turn off “heavy” feeders and carrier lines so that the city “remained on
The energy bridge under construction to Crimea is placed under heavy security by law enforcement agencies due to the threat of terrorist attacks. The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, announced this today in an interview with the Russian News Service radio station.
“The deadline for the first stage of the energy bridge across the Kerch Strait is December 20, 2015,” Alexander Novak. The Russian Ministry of Energy is looking for opportunities to quickly commission the first stage of the energy bridge to Crimea before the designated date (end of 2015). This should cover about 70–80% of the peninsula’s electricity needs, RIA Novosti reports, citing the head of the Ministry of Energy, Alexander Novak. The commissioning of the second stage, scheduled for May 2016, will make Crimea completely independent of electricity imports.
CIUS UES announced a tender for the development of documentation for the construction of the 500 kV high-voltage line Rostovskaya - Andreevskaya - Vyshesteblievskaya (Taman).
A specialized vessel was stationed at the port of the Zaliv plant and set out this morning to complete the assigned task - laying a cable along the bottom of the Kerch Strait.
Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy Evgeniy Demin told the KERCH.COM.RU website in an exclusive interview about the stages of construction of the energy bridge to Crimea from the mainland, the timing of putting the facility into operation, and also what the republic will do if electricity is no longer supplied from both Ukraine and from Russia.
As part of the implementation of state tasks for the socio-economic development of the Crimean Federal District, a Scheme for the development of the electric power industry of the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol was developed, as well as the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 08.11.2014 No. 790 approved the federal target program “Socio-economic development of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol until 2020" (hereinafter referred to as the Federal Target Program), which provides for the construction and modernization of generation facilities, the electric grid complex, and the gas transportation system.
The work is in full swing. Heavy equipment has moved towards the village of Oktyabrskoye, where specialists are stretching wires between the main supports. During the work, the power supply in the village was turned off and train traffic was suspended.
Photo: IHMC RAS In the Krasnodar region, during archaeological excavations preceding the construction of an energy bridge to Crimea, an amphora of the 5th century BC filled with oil was discovered. The vessel dates back to the 5th century. BC. An unusual discovery was made during research in the area of the settlement of Ilyichevka (Temryuk district). The settlement arose in the 6th century. BC. and existed until late antiquity. Individual finds of molded pottery indicate that these places were developed back in the Bronze Age. Now
In May of this year, the first preparations for construction work on the construction of an energy bridge across the Kerch Strait began in Kerch. Today, builders say that by the end of 2015 the power line will be ready for operation.
The main work is being carried out off the coast between Yurkino and Glazovka, where a small construction site is located. At the moment, preparations are underway for the main work: employees of several St. Petersburg companies are laying out an auxiliary power line that will power the construction site itself, and special pipes are being laid from the water’s edge, which will become a passage for the main cable. In the blocked area, a terminal is created for the exit of the “energy bridge” - a tunnel is made underground using horizontal directional drilling (HDD), where metal-plastic pipes are stretched, creating a cable passage
The transition of the Crimean peninsula from one country to another caused an unprecedented resonance throughout the world. In addition to the political consequences, the resolution of which will worry the countries for a long time, some issues of providing for the inhabitants of the peninsula have also arisen. We are talking not only about ordinary consumer goods and food products, the delivery of which from the territory of Ukraine decreased significantly during certain periods, but also about the energy plan. In particular, controversial issues arose regarding the supply of Crimea with electricity, water, gas, telephone
The Energy Bridge to Crimea is a complex of energy facilities that allow the transfer of electricity from the Russian mainland to the Crimean peninsula.
The energy system of the Crimean peninsula is deficient in power and electricity: 20-23% of the electricity consumed there is generated by its own sources. Being part of Ukraine, the region was almost completely dependent on electricity supplies from the mainland of the country - the flow from the Ukrainian energy system to the Crimean one fluctuated between 70-90% of consumption.
In connection with the entry of Crimea into Russia in 2014, there were restrictions on the supply of electricity from the territory of Ukraine and a shortage of electrical energy arose in the technologically isolated territorial energy system.
By decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated August 11, 2014, the federal target program “Socio-economic development of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol until 2020” was approved, which provided for the construction of an electric grid energy bridge between the Russian Federation and the Crimean peninsula. Cable crossing through the Kerch Strait.
Work on creating a project for the construction of an energy bridge from the Krasnodar Territory to Crimea, connecting the peninsula with the Unified Energy System of Russia, began in April 2014 and was completed a year later.
The energy bridge project included the construction of two electrical substations in the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Crimea, the construction of power transmission lines, as well as the laying of four 220 kilovolt submarine cable lines across the Kerch Strait.
For each of the four lines, four cables had to be laid: three working cables, one for each phase and one backup. Cable laying under water was provided in separate trenches with a depth of up to 2.5 meters relative to the bottom mark with a distance between cables of 10 meters. On approaching the shore, the cables had to be laid in a common trench.
The Russian Ministry of Energy has concluded a state contract with the Russian Energy Agency to carry out work on the construction of an energy bridge to Crimea. The contractor was a subsidiary of Rosseti - JSC CIUS UES. The duration of the work is from the moment of conclusion of the government contract until December 25, 2020. The first stage of the energy bridge with a capacity of 350-400 megawatts, according to the contract, was to be put into operation before December 25, 2015.
Construction and installation work on the construction of energy facilities began in April 2015. The energy bridge was erected simultaneously at six points - a power transmission line (PTL) was built from the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant to the Taman Peninsula, where the substation was reconstructed, and overhead lines were laid to the cable crossing along the Kerch Strait and from the same cable crossing to Kerch and Feodosia.
Work on the construction of the energy bridge had to be accelerated after Crimea was completely de-energized on the night of November 22, 2015 - due to the explosion of supports, all four power lines coming from Ukraine were out of order. In Crimea and Sevastopol, a state of emergency and emergency power outage schedules were introduced.
On December 2, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the first line of the energy bridge. On December 15, the second line was launched. The total capacity was 400 megawatts.
The third line - 200 megawatts - was commissioned on April 14, 2016. On May 11, 2016, the fourth and last line of the energy bridge was launched in Crimea. Thus, the energy bridge to Crimea is operating at full capacity. Due to extraordinary circumstances, it was introduced one and a half to two years earlier than planned.
As part of the implementation of the energy bridge project, two new substations were built (“Taman” and “Kafa”), five existing substations were modernized and reconstructed (“Kubanskaya”, “Vyshesteblevskaya”, “Slavyanskaya”, “Simferopolskaya”, “Kamysh-Burun”), More than 800 kilometers of power transmission lines with a voltage class of 220-500 kilovolts were built, four circuits consisting of four cable lines with a total length of 230 kilometers were laid along the bottom of the Kerch Strait.
With the launch of the last line of the energy bridge, the flow from the Russian mainland to Crimea increased to 800 megawatts, which, taking into account its own generation, amounted to about 1,270 megawatts. This completely replaces the flow that was provided until November 2015 from the Ukrainian energy system.
The implementation of this project made it possible to completely avoid Crimea’s dependence on Ukrainian electricity supplies and reduce the risks of disruption of power supply to consumers. Currently, the second stage of the project is being implemented, related to the expansion of the electrical grid component: from the Rostov NPP, where the fourth power unit with a capacity of 1.1 hectowatts will be commissioned at the end of 2017, a high-voltage line “Rostovskaya - Andreevskaya - Taman” with a length of about 500 kilometers will be built. With the commissioning of this line, the flow of electricity to Crimea will be increased to 850 megawatts (the energy bridge will reach full capacity).
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Russian authorities announce the launch of the fourth line of the energy bridge. According to their information, now a total of 800 MW is supplied from the Krasnodar Territory to the Crimean energy system - almost the same amount as the peninsula received from mainland Ukraine. According to experts, thanks to the full launch of the energy bridge, Crimea will be provided with electricity by 90 percent. At the same time, according to their forecasts, due to the fact that the peninsula’s energy system was not designed for supplies from Russia, it will malfunction and be subject to emergency shutdowns in different regions for at least a year.
Initially, Russian authorities planned to complete construction of the energy bridge in October 2016. However, events on the administrative border of Crimea with mainland Ukraine forced them to reconsider their plans. At the end of November, power transmission towers carrying electricity from the continent were blown up there, and the peninsula was completely de-energized.
The connection of each of the four lines of the energy bridge took place under the control of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and was a whole ritual. To launch the first line, which took place on December 4, the Russian president flew to Kerch. Putin supervised the connection of the second line from Moscow via teleconference. He solemnly announced the launch of the third line on April 14 during his direct line with the citizens of the country.
Vladimir Putin watched the connection of the last, fourth line from Sochi, being in videoconference mode with Crimea. On the peninsula, the launch ceremony of the energy bridge took place in Feodosia on the territory of the Kafa substation, which receives electricity from Russia. The first persons of the de facto power of Crimea came here: Sergei Aksenov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Sergei Menyailo.
Addressing those gathered in Feodosia Vladimir Putin stated that the energy transition through the Kerch Strait is a very complex technical project, and the latest technologies were used here.
“As a result, we managed to break through the energy blockade of Crimea in a short time. As a matter of fact, I have no doubt, if necessary, we will break through any other blockade if someone wants to train us,” said Vladimir Putin.
He promised that the launch of the energy bridge is not the end, and work to modernize the peninsula’s energy sector will continue. According to the Russian President, construction of thermal power plants is already underway in Simferopol and Sevastopol, and in 2017 one unit will be put into operation at each of them. Putin assured that in the end the total power of electricity they produce will be 470 MW, and in 2018 they will add another 470 MW.
Worst of all – Firtash
At the moment, the Crimean energy system is operating stably. Back in the early spring of 2016, planned outages for Crimean consumers were kept to a minimum.
The latest wave of rolling blackouts swept across the peninsula from April 11 to 18. The press service of the government of Crimea, controlled by Russia, then reported that during this period the operational limit was reduced due to the implementation of planned repair work to rebuild the energy bridge.
Crimean household consumers receive electricity around the clock. However, every now and then there are reports of emergency shutdowns
Now Crimean household consumers receive electricity around the clock. However, every now and then there are reports of temporary emergency shutdowns in different parts of the peninsula. For example, on April 21, Armyansk and a number of villages in the Black Sea region were partially de-energized, and on the 27th, blackouts occurred in Kerch, and in the Pervomaisky region, an accident occurred on the power grid.
While households receive virtually uninterrupted electricity, many businesses still struggle and rely on their own generators. At the end of April, the Russian Minister of Industrial Policy of Crimea Andrey Vasyuta stated that enterprises are experiencing the greatest difficulties due to energy shortages Dmitry Firtash in the north of the peninsula: “Crimean Titan” and a soda plant.
“I will still return to Titan and Soda... They are probably the most affected in this matter. You see, these are mono-cities, it is impossible to stop enterprises there. In fact, Titan worked at a loss for a long time, because producing a third of its capabilities is unprofitable. The authorities met the enterprises halfway, relatively speaking, by lending them for electricity, gas, and so on, without straining the factories for existing debts,” said Andrei Vasyuta.
Electric transport, the services of which have always been quite popular in Crimea, has not yet operated at full capacity. Intercity trolleybus service was restored only on April 22. The management of the State Unitary Enterprise "Krymtrolleybus" reported that on this day 18 cars were launched on the route "Simferopol - Yalta". This is a third of the maximum number of trolleybuses that were used on the intercity route during the holiday season. And in Sevastopol, as the Russian city authorities report, 85 trolleybuses out of 96 operate on the routes. They plan to use the entire fleet there after the power supply is fully restored.
Spent 47 billion
According to official information, the installation and launch of the energy bridge cost the Russian budget 47.302 billion rubles. This amount was included in the state contract for its construction, concluded in the summer of 2015. March 5, 2016 Minister of Energy of Russia Alexander Novak stated that this value will remain unchanged despite the devaluation.
“As for the necessary funds for construction, they were provided for by the federal target program for the development of Crimea - this is 47 billion rubles over several years. This amount does not change, despite the fact that devaluation has occurred, and some imported equipment is still used, although it is mainly Russian contractors and Russian equipment, construction and installation work. However, we are within the initial funding parameters,” the minister said on the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Director of Energy Programs at the Center for World Economy and International Relations of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Valentin Zemlyansky believes that Russia will be able to recoup the construction of the energy bridge in no less than 10 years.
Russia will be able to recoup the construction of the energy bridge in at least 10 years
“You have to understand that this is a capital investment. In any case, this money will take a long time to come back, but that is what they are counting on. Nobody builds, so to speak, a power plant, expecting to break even within a year. However, you need to understand that these are refundable funds. The only question is how long it will take to cover these costs,” the expert said.
In addition to the costs of building the energy bridge, Russia also had to spend money on the purchase and refueling of diesel generators. At a February meeting with the Russian president, the current head of Crimea Sergey Aksenov stated that more than 500 million rubles had to be spent on fuel.
“From the budget of the Republic of Crimea, 540 million rubles have been allocated for refueling diesel generators, their maintenance and consumables, which is not critical for the republic’s budget,” said Sergei Aksenov.
In the near future, accidents and blackouts cannot be avoided in the Crimean power grids, because the power system was designed to receive electricity from the north, and not from the east
Electric power industry expert Valentin Zemlyansky believes that after the launch of the fourth line of the energy bridge, Crimea’s electricity needs will be satisfied by approximately 90 percent.
“The energy bridge should provide a power of about 800 MW. This is more than enough taking into account the thermal power plants that exist. But we understand that this is a submarine cable. And this system is less reliable than if it went by land. Accordingly, some failures are possible,” the expert noted.
According to Valentin Zemlyansky’s forecasts, accidents and outages cannot be avoided in the Crimean power grid in the near future, also because the peninsula’s power system was designed to receive electricity from the north, and not from the east. According to him, disruptions will continue until the system levels out and the two additional gas-fired thermal power plants promised by Putin are built.
The third line of the energy bridge to Crimea is expected to be launched in the coming days. The President announced this on April 7 at the media forum of the All-Russian Popular Front Vladimir Putin. According to the head of state, in a few days the power engineers will launch the third line of the energy bridge, and in May 2016 the last, fourth line will be launched.
Energomost was planned to be commissioned in two years
When construction began, it was planned to be completed by 2018. But then, taking into account the difficult situation with the energy supply of the Crimean Peninsula, which arose after the sabotage of Ukrainian radicals against power lines in the Kherson region, it was decided to shift the completion date of the work and speed up the progress of its implementation. As a result, by the beginning of 2016, two lines of the energy bridge had already been commissioned. At the end of February, the third line began operating in test mode. Its official delivery was scheduled for April 24, 2016. As we can see, electricity will most likely go to Crimea via the third line of the energy bridge ten days earlier than planned. Vladimir Putin promises that in 2017-2018 additional capacities will be launched, which will increase the supply of electricity to the peninsula.
Let us recall that the construction of the energy bridge across the Kerch Strait began in accordance with the decision made back in 2014. The main goal of the construction of the energy bridge was to ensure the integration of the energy system of the Crimean Peninsula into the unified energy system of Russia. The cost of building the energy bridge and related infrastructure reaches 47 billion rubles. The Rostov nuclear power plant near the city of Volgodonsk, Rostov region, was chosen as the main connection point and power source.
The actual construction work in the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea began last fall. By November 27, 2015, a power transmission line to Kerch was built in Crimea, through which power from the first line of the energy bridge was to be received. At the same time, cable laying began along the bottom of the Kerch Strait. On the morning of December 2, 2015, the first line of the energy bridge was tested, and in the evening of December 2, in a solemn atmosphere, a ceremony was held to turn on the first line of the energy bridge, in which President Vladimir Putin and the Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation took part Alexander Novak.
Ukrainian radicals failed to prevent construction
The launch of the first line of the energy bridge made it possible to transmit 100 MW per day to the peninsula. After the second line of the energy bridge was put into operation on December 15, 2015, it became possible to transmit up to 400 MW per day to the peninsula. Considering that in the fall of 2015, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar nationalists blew up power transmission line supports in the Kherson region of Ukraine, after which severe power outages began in Crimea, the construction of an energy bridge turned out to be extremely urgent. At first, Ukrainian politicians repeatedly said that the construction of an energy bridge across the strait between the Krasnodar Territory and the Crimean Peninsula was not possible.
When it became obvious that the bridge was not a dream, but a real project that had already begun to function, nationalist-minded politicians began threatening the energy bridge. Thus, the Crimean Tatar nationalist figure Lenur Islyamov promised to arrange a blockade of the Crimean Peninsula and from the Kerch Strait. Then the official authorities of Crimea were very skeptical about the threats from Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar radicals. In particular, the Minister of Internal Policy, Information and Communications of the Republic of Crimea Dmitry Polonsky promised that the participants in the blockade will be given “an inflatable rubber duck, some will receive elbow pads, some may receive a Turkish inflatable mattress as a gift.”
Until recently, there were no provocations against the construction of the energy bridge that were known to the media. At the same time, the damage to the Crimean economy from the actions of extremists who blew up power line supports in the Kherson region amounted to, according to the Crimean prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya, at least 2 billion rubles. Criminal cases were opened against persons suspected of involvement in sabotage activities.
The bridge will make Crimea energy independent
The construction of the energy bridge will make the Crimean Peninsula completely independent in energy terms from Ukraine. In general, it can be noted that by now most of the problems in the field of energy supply in Crimea have already been solved. Not long ago, Free Press - South wrote that in the Kherson region, all the supports of the Kakhovskaya-Dzhankoy, Kakhovskaya-Ostrovskaya and Melitopol-Dzhankoy power lines, damaged in the fall-winter of 2015 by Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar radicals, have been restored.
Acting Director of the company "Ukrenergo" Vsevolod Kovalchuk he even stated at his press conference that Ukrainian power engineers would be able to restore electricity supply to Crimea within a few hours if necessary. It is obvious that despite the political bravado, deep down the Ukrainian side hopes for the resumption of electricity purchases for the needs of Crimea. After all, the radicals, by their actions, unwittingly caused serious damage to the Ukrainian economy, which lost financial revenues from the sale of electricity to Crimea.
Co-Chairman of the Energy Strategies Fund Dmitry Marunich announced profits from electricity supplies to Crimea at approximately $170 million. Thanks to the actions of radicals, Ukraine lost this money, and this despite the fact that its economy is already going through difficult, if not catastrophic, times. Therefore, Ukrainian energy workers are probably counting on the fact that sooner or later political disagreements will subside and Crimea will again begin to consume Ukrainian electricity. But now, as more and more lines of the Kerch Energy Bridge are launched, there is no longer a need to purchase electricity in Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government Arkady Dvorkovich praised Russian energy workers for the early commissioning of the third line of the energy bridge. Speaking at the board of the Ministry of Energy, Dvorkovich emphasized that, in fact, at the moment we can talk about the rapid pace of construction of the energy bridge. “We are actually talking about the advanced commissioning of an energy bridge connecting the unified energy system of the South with the Crimean Peninsula. Accordingly, the region’s need for electricity will be met almost in full,” Arkady Dvorkovich emphasized. It seems that the promises of the Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Alexandra Novak commissioning the energy bridge by the beginning of the holiday season in order to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity to Crimea and not disrupt the arrival of tourists will come true in any case. Most likely, the fourth line of the energy bridge will also be commissioned ahead of schedule, after which the peninsula will finally be integrated into the Russian unified energy system.
The third stage of the energy bridge to Crimea will be launched today, April 14. This will increase the maximum volume of flows to Crimea from the mainland to 600 MW. The last line of the cable across the Kerch Strait for another 200 MW should be launched “in two to three weeks.”
The third line of the energy bridge to Crimea across the Kerch Strait should be launched today, the fourth - in the next two to three weeks, President Vladimir Putin said during the live line. “Literally today the third circuit should be turned on - this is an additional 200 MW,” he said. “This is approaching the volume of flows that were carried out from Ukrainian territory. Within two to three weeks, at most, the fourth chain will be launched. This plus another 200 MW. Thus, there will be 800 MW across the energy bridge.”
The energy bridge should become the first stage of Crimea’s energy independence from Ukraine, which during its ownership of the peninsula covered its main electricity needs. The first stage of the energy bridge (two strings of 400 MW) was commissioned on an accelerated basis in December 2015 (see Kommersant of December 3, 2015). This had to be done after terrorists in the Kherson region of Ukraine damaged power transmission line supports to Crimea and interrupted the power supply to Crimea (the Ukrainian authorities were then unable to respond in any way to the terrorist attack and restore energy supplies to the peninsula). The second stage (two more lines of 400 MW) was expected to start operating in May. But on April 8, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich announced that there were “literally a few days” left before the new line was put into operation.
Director of the State Unitary Enterprise Krymenergo Viktor Plakida told Kommersant on Thursday afternoon that he has no more information about the launch of new branches of the energy bridge than Vladimir Putin. “I watch with interest the direct line with the president of our state and absorb new information,” said Mr. Plakida. The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, commenting on Vladimir Putin’s statement about the launch of the third branch of the energy bridge, congratulated the Crimeans on “another victory” and thanked them for their “understanding.” According to him, the flow of electricity from Kuban to the peninsula will increase by another 200 MW, but local authorities do not yet plan to cancel the emergency situation in Crimea due to the situation in the energy sector. “According to Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin - Kommersant), the fourth chain will be launched within two to three weeks. After this, the state of emergency will be lifted. Crimea will meet the holiday season without a shortage of electricity,” said Sergei Aksenov.
The second stage of Crimea’s energy independence involves the construction of gas generation on the peninsula. According to the president, in 2017, “more than 400 MW (two blocks) should be commissioned, and in 2018, two more blocks - more than 400 megawatts.” In addition, Vladimir Putin explained that it is planned to solve the problem with the poor condition of power distribution networks in Crimea (). “There was a problem related to the fact that since electricity previously came from the northern part and reached Kerch and other regions last, the networks here are still not of very good quality,” he explained. “The Ministry of Energy thought about this. They are putting in the appropriate substations and reconstructing them.”
Vladimir Dzaguto; Vadim Nikiforov, Simferopol
How Crimea felt enlightenment
Last year, Crimea received the first 200 MW of power via an energy bridge from Kuban. Residents of the peninsula report that some areas of Simferopol are no longer experiencing power outages, although there is still no light on the streets. In Sevastopol, residents receive electricity in volumes exceeding the outage schedule, and in Feodosia and a number of other cities, outages have stopped completely.
How a disruption in electricity supplies from Ukraine intensified the construction of a Russian energy bridge
At the end of November last year, power lines in the Kherson region of Crimea were completely disconnected from electricity supplies from Ukraine. Domestic generation can provide only 20-30% of Crimea’s needs, so in the near future rolling blackouts on the peninsula will reach nine hours, heat supply has been cut off, and problems with mobile communications have arisen in cities. But the main thing is that shutting down Crimea could intensify the construction of the Russian energy bridge; as a result, Ukrainian energy workers face the imminent loss of a market that brought them almost $12 million in just nine months of this year.
