Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, DTEK Energy's thermal power plants have been ‘brought back to life’ from scratch 41 times and resumed their operation after shelling.
This was announced by DTEK Energy CEO Ildar Salieiev on his Facebook page.
‘Power engineers are often asked when we will restore everything after the shelling and why it cannot be done faster. But if you remember, we have already done it... 41 times. That's exactly the number of times since February 2022 that power engineers of DTEK Energy TPPs have rebuilt the plants from scratch and restarted their operation after shelling,’ said the head of the company.
Mr Salieiev explained that a ‘zero-grid’ plant is when a thermal power plant is completely disabled in an emergency manner. That is, it does not generate electricity and does not supply it to the grid. According to him, it is extremely hard work to bring the equipment back up and restore the power plant's generation to the grid in each case.
‘Every time we have to do this despite the numerous destructions and other consequences of the shelling, which, believe me, are enormous. After all, the more than 180 attacks that the company's thermal power plants have experienced since the start of the full-scale invasion cannot pass without a trace. The attacks in recent months have been especially ‘painful’. We have 90% of damaged or destroyed facilities, huge holes in the roofs and walls of the plants,’ he said.
But the most important thing is that despite the enemy's ongoing energy terror, the recovery is ongoing.
‘Power engineers are doing everything possible to overcome this tough situation 24/7. The main task is to restore as much as possible before the start of the heating season and continue to do so throughout the winter. However, after such large-scale damage, a significant part of the restoration work will have to be done in 2025 and beyond. Full recovery will take years,’ he said.
As you know, in 2024, the company will invest about UAH 3.9 bln in repairs and restoration of TPPs damaged by shelling, which is the same as last year's investments.