REUTERS
Crimea's de facto head Sergei Aksyonov expects the power bridge from Krasnodar Krai will start operating as soon as on December 5-6, according to Russian news agency TASS.
"The situation will change after [December] 5-6, as soon as the power bridge goes live, but we do not put the date firm. The deadline is by [December] 22 but I hope everything will be earlier," Aksyonov said after an emergency response staff meeting on Friday, TASS reported.
The Crimean authorities are currently considering several options of energizing boiler houses, Aksyonov said. These may be connected to diesel generators or using "the general loop." The second option implies growth of energy generation, particularly on account of power bridge commissioning.
Earlier this week Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the first stage of the power bridge from Krasnodar Krai to Crimea would be commissioned by December 20.
Crimea was cut off the power grids at night of November 22 after Ukraine had stopped supplying electricity because its power transmission lines located on the administrative border between mainland Ukraine and Crimea had been destroyed in explosions.