Russian Energy Ministry is looking for opportunities to accelerate the commissioning of the first phase of the energy bridge to Crimea ahead of the schedule (end of 2015), Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported with reference to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
"Of course, currently Crimea is facing capacity shortages by about 60-70% due to lack of energy flows from the Ukrainian grid. We have to keep the outage schedules, i.e. residential areas and enterprises are provided with electricity according to the schedule. It is few hours a day during several periods. In different regions the schedule is different, but made in a way to evenly distribute existing energy supplies," Novak said.
It is reported that the energy bridge should satisfy about 70-80% of the peninsula's electricity needs.
He added that operational headquarters have been launched in Sevastopol and Moscow.
Read alsoRussia pulls tanks, Grads to Crimea-Kherson demarcation line in wake of blackout - MIA official"We are taking actions now to first of all accelerate the construction of the energy bridge, reduce the timing for its commissioning. It will enable additional capacities of 400 MW after commissioning of the first phase," the minister said.
Originally the launch was planned for March, 2016, but the schedule was shifted to December, 2015. Currently, the work is being accelerated due to the damage of the power line. Novak did not specify the exact date of commissioning the first phase of the energy bridge, adding only that time is valuable.
"With the commissioning of the second phase, Crimea will be fully supplied with electricity through own generation and flows from the Russian energy system," Novak said. Earlier, the second stage of the energy bridge to Crimea was planned to be commissioned in December 2016.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the two out of the four transmission pylons on the administrative border between mainland Ukraine and Russian-occupied Crimea, which were damaged by blasts in the early hours of November 20, were destroyed completely late on Saturday, November 21, according to reports.
On November 23, Ukrenergo stated that the shutdown of power lines transmitting to the occupied Crimea that occurred as a result of the damage did not disrupt power supplies in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
Read alsoDzhemilev: Crimea blockade activists ready to allow repair of two transmission linesAs of the morning of November 23, participants of the Crimea blockade campaign continue blocking access to damaged power lines for power engineers and repair teams. Currently, Crimea is partially supplied with electricity generated by own facilities.