Two Ukrainian regions face emergency power cuts of unknown duration

Regional power companies in Sumy and Poltava oblasts have activated a special emergency schedule to lower the load on the electrical grid. The utilities announced that they cannot provide consumers with a specific timeline for when power will be restored.

Poltavaoblenergo stated that it received instructions from Ukrenergo, the state-owned electricity transmission operator, at 15:19 on November 3. The company reported the implementation of the new schedule on its Facebook page. Sumyoblenergo confirmed that the special schedule was fully implemented in its region.

According to Sumyoblenergo, these measures involve disconnecting 35 to 110 kV power lines. The protocol also includes switching off transformers and specific busbar sections at substations operating at those voltage levels. These actions are designed to rapidly reduce the total demand placed on the power system.

The regional utilities explained that the schedules are both introduced and lifted based on direct commands from the Ukrenergo dispatcher. Because of the nature of the emergency protocol, the companies said it is impossible to predict how long the outages will last for residents and businesses.

The power companies attributed the current difficulty in the energy sector to Russian armed aggression. They assured consumers that power engineers are working to stabilize the system. This latest action follows a similar emergency schedule introduced in Kyiv and six other oblasts on the morning of November 3 due to equipment damage and reduced voltage in the high-voltage grid.