Ukraine enforces power cuts amid fierce heatwave and bombings

In Ukraine, electricity supply restrictions have increased due to several days of heatwaves. On Friday, up to 70 percent of consumers will experience outages for most of the day, according to the state-owned company Ukrenerho. Last night, Ukraine received emergency power from Poland. Ukrainian power plants have been severely affected by Russian bombings.

According to Ukrenerho, on Friday, energy companies will shut down four lines simultaneously from 7 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time rather than from 9 AM to 4 PM as previously announced. This means limiting supplies for 70 percent of consumers in each region.

"From 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time, four rounds of hourly shutdowns will be applied to compensate for the energy shortfall in the system, and three rounds during the remaining hours," the statement noted.

Electricity consumption in Ukraine is currently the highest due to the heat, with a significant energy shortfall in the national grid following Russian missile attacks on energy facilities.

Since the beginning of the year, Russian forces have carried out eight massive attacks on Ukraine's energy system. As a result, the country has lost 12 GW of production capacity. Experts say this capacity is equal to the summer peak energy consumption in European countries such as the Netherlands, Finland, Slovakia, and the Baltic countries combined.

"The temperature in the country exceeds 91 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the forecast from Ukrenerho's Dispatch Center, today's consumption will remain maximally high and significantly exceed the available capacity in the system to cover it," the company statement said.

"Today, from midnight to 6 AM Eastern Time, Ukrenerho engaged emergency supplies from the Polish power system to reduce the deficit. In the evening, Ukrenerho's Dispatch Center also plans to start emergency supplies from European countries to maintain reserves in the system and reduce the energy deficit," it was reported.