On the morning of January 23, the situation in Ukraine’s power system significantly deteriorated, forcing emergency power outages in most regions. The disruption was caused by the aftermath of massive missile and drone attacks and emergency repairs at generation facilities.
According to Ukrenergo, the main reason for the emergency outages is the impact of large-scale missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian power plants and transmission and distribution substations. The power system is still recovering from the damage, while the situation worsened further in the morning as several generation facilities were taken offline for emergency repairs.
The company said the equipment is operating at the limit of its capabilities. Due to earlier damage, surviving power units are under heavy strain to supply electricity and require shutdowns for repairs.
To maintain balance in the power system and prevent uncontrolled blackouts that could lead to long-term damage to high-voltage equipment, dispatchers were forced to take emergency measures and apply emergency outages.
Ukrenergo said repair crews are already working to restore damaged facilities. Restoration work at some sites is expected to be completed soon, allowing emergency restrictions to be lifted and a return to planned hourly outage schedules in most regions.
Energy workers urged the public to be understanding and to use electricity as efficiently as possible.