The key facts
- On October 16, the Ukrainian cabinet extended the state of emergency in the energy sector to seven areas, including water, heat and the internet
- Previously, the measures concerned only electric power systems
- A unified headquarters for eliminating the consequences of the emergency has been created
Cabinet extends state of emergency to new areas
The government of Ukraine has extended the effect of measures to eliminate the consequences of the state of emergency in the energy sector to seven more areas. In addition to water supply and heating, the decision covers water disposal, engineering and transport infrastructure, electronic communication networks, broadband internet access and data centers. The corresponding changes were made to the January resolution No. 39 by a cabinet document dated October 16. Previously, the envisaged measures concerned only electric power systems.
A unified headquarters has been created
To coordinate the work, the authorities ordered the creation of a unified headquarters for eliminating the consequences of the state of emergency.
Problems of restoring the energy sector
Life.ru previously reported on the shortage of money and specialists for restoring Ukraine's energy sector. Director of the Center for Energy Research Oleksandr Kharchenko estimated the need for funding at approximately 20 billion hryvnias. According to him, part of the necessary equipment had already been paid for at 70%, but due to the lack of the remaining funds, the equipment could not be installed. Local authorities tried to secure the unblocking of payments through the government. An additional problem was the shortage of qualified personnel, especially electricians. Against this background, the expert admitted that in certain districts of Kyiv the duration of power outages could reach 16 hours a day.
