Crimea’s Electricity Problems Continue
Crimea continues to experience power shortages, which are especially pronounced at peak hours. The head of the Crimean Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, Sergey Shakhov, said that Crimea now needs up to 1350 megawatts, but the supply is still short. This was the reason why the planned blackouts were to take effect during peak hours.
"As of 6:00 PM on January 3rd, the total amount of power generated on the peninsula is 931 megawatts. Crimea itself generates 513 megawatts while the Kuban-Crimea energy bridge provides 417 megawatts of electricity. During the periods of peak consumption the blackouts are being organized according to the allocated limits," he said at the Emergency Response Staff Meeting, according to Krym.Realii.
Staff Meetings are traditionally broadcast live on the 1st Crimean TV channel. However, on the 3rd of January neither the live TV coverage of the meeting nor any other programs were broadcast.
On December 30th, Crimea stopped receiving electricity from the Ukrainian mainlan because the towers that supported the power lines in the Kherson region were damaged, probably as a result of an explosion. Now the power lines that are used for conveying 250 megawatts of electricity to Crimea are restored, but the electricity is not actually supplied to the peninsula because of Russia's termination of the electricity supply contract with Ukraine.
Crimea, now annexed by Russia, is supplied by its own energy generators, by generator systems from Russia and by the energy bridge from Kuban. There have been many complaints about the unfair distribution of power to the regions.