Heating situation most difficult in Solomiansky, Pechersky, Holosiivsky districts, restoration timeline still being assessed – Energy Research Center director
The most difficult situation with restoring heat following Russia's attack on January 9 is in the Solomiansky, Pechersky, and Holosiivsky districts, as well as in Teremky. However, energy specialists and municipal services are working through various options to restore heating as quickly as possible, Oleksandr Kharchenko, Director of the Energy Research Center, has said.
"Unfortunately, the damage to the combined heat and power plants is very severe, and the attack was extremely intense. Restoration of heat supply is currently underway on the Left Bank and in Obolon. Regrettably, it is still unclear how long it will take to restore heating in Solomianka, Teremky, Pechersk, and Holosiieve. This entire part of Kyiv is currently in a difficult situation, and assessments of the time required to restore heating are still ongoing," Kharchenko said on Friday in a comment to the Energy Reform online portal.
At the same time, he described the advance preparatory work to drain the heat-transfer fluid from the system, if necessary, as "an entirely responsible and correct step."
"Those responsible for preserving the heating system carried out preparatory work in advance so that the relevant structures would be ready and the responsible personnel would know what to do and how to do it. These people have now been warned: if temperatures in buildings approach a dangerous level, the water must be drained before it freezes," the Director of the Energy Research Center explained.
He also emphasized that efforts are continuing to reroute heating districts and to bring all available boiler equipment online to the maximum extent possible, in order to redistribute heat and protect the heating systems of as many buildings as possible.
"I know that certain creative solutions are being applied, including shutting off hot water where this allows savings to ensure heating. Overall, Kyivteploenergo is now doing everything possible, and even the impossible, to restore heat as quickly as it can. It is searching for alternative and engineering solutions," Kharchenko noted.
At the same time, he declined to forecast specific timelines for the restoration of heating.
"I cannot make any prediction. That would be irresponsible. But I do not believe we are talking about a week. Heat supply to most of Kyiv will be restored in the near future. I have named the areas with elevated risks, but even there the problems may affect significant sections rather than entire districts," the expert explained.
In his view, it is important for people living in high-risk areas to monitor indoor temperatures, while the decision on whether to follow the Kyiv mayor's advice to temporarily leave the capital is a personal one.
Kharchenko added that there can be no ready-made answers as to how the heating situation will develop, nor ready-made solutions for what to do, as the ability to retain heat during frost differs drastically between a modern energy-efficient building and an old Khrushchev-era apartment block.
"I hope that in the most difficult situations heat will return within 2–2.5 days, but whether a particular building will have sufficient capacity to retain heat until then. I am not prepared to say," the Director of the Energy Research Center concluded.
According to sources close to the Kyiv City State Administration, CHPP-4 (Euro-Reconstruction) has already begun circulating the heat-transfer fluid. Restoring operations at CHPP-5 is expected to take approximately two days, and at CHPP-6 about one day (both operated by Kyivteploenergo). Water supply and wastewater services in Kyiv have been restored. Management companies have been instructed to drain heat-transfer fluid from residential buildings connected to CHPP-5 and CHPP-6.
