"Complete power outage": why Crimea was left without electricity and what it threatens the residents of Crimea

A total power outage occurred in Crimea, annexed by the Russian Federation, after a fire at an electrical substation in Taman, Russia, which supplies electricity to the energy bridge to Crimea. Crimea.Realities found out what power is being transmitted by the energy bridge to the Crimean peninsula and what the disruption of this energy facility will lead to.

On the night of August 20, the annexed Crimea was subjected to a massive attack by Ukrainian drones. As the telegram channel "Crimean Wind" reports, citing its subscribers, explosions were heard in Yevpatoriya, Saki, Feodosia (especially near the "Kafa" electrical substation), Alushta, Bakhchisaray, Saki and Nizhny Gorsk.

At 01:45, a complete power outage occurred - the entire Crimean peninsula was without electricity, as reported by Crimean public forums and users of social networks.

"Crimean Wind" also reported five explosions in the village of Malorichensky near Alushta, where, according to its subscribers, drones hit the 110 kV Malorichenskaya substation.

The Russian authorities in Sevastopol have twice declared an air alert in the city, and in the morning announced a "temporary restriction of electricity supply" and that trolleybuses will not be able to run on the tracks.

The Russian authorities in Simferopol also reported that trolleybuses will not be able to run on the tracks due to insufficient electricity supply, and trams are not running in Yevpatoriya.

The Russian company "Krimenergo", citing "technological disruptions in the power grids", reported a power outage "in a number of settlements in the Southern, Central and Western energy districts".

After nine o'clock in the morning, electricity supply began to be restored in the districts of Crimea.

The most important energy facility

The Crimean Wind Monitoring Group, after analyzing data from NASA satellites, drew attention to the fire on the Taman Peninsula in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation. Thermal signatures covered part of the territory of the Taman 500/220/10 kV substation.

“It (the substation – KR) is a key element of the energy bridge from the Kuban to Crimea. That is why the power went out in the entire Crimea at 01:45,” the monitoring group notes.

“The energy bridge is the most important element of Crimea’s electricity supply from Russia. Its peak capacity is a little over 800 megawatts, which is more than half of the peninsula’s maximum demand. Now that the Ukrainian defense forces have damaged all the main generating facilities – the Balaklava TPP, the Tavria TPP and the Saki TPP to varying degrees – the energy bridge is the main source. Its complete shutdown will not destroy the Crimean power system, but it will lead to very short schedules for supplying the population with electricity. This could be a “two hours after ten” option,” an activist of the Simferopol-based international movement for the liberation of Crimea #LIBERATECRIMEA, who works in the energy sector, told Crimea.Realies on condition of anonymity.

The specialist recalled that attacks had previously been carried out on the energy bridge’s entry point to the peninsula near Kerch.

"The length of the energy bridge is 14.5 kilometers, it is laid with four underwater cable lines. The PP-2 "Krim" crossing receives these cables and transfers them to overhead power lines," explained an energy engineer from Crimea.

The commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for unmanned systems, Robert Brovdy (call sign "Hungarian"), reported attacks on this crossing on July 8 and 13.

And on June 29, the Crimean Wind monitoring group reported a fire at the Kuban energy bridge crossing in Russia, on the other side of the Kerch Strait.

Nothing is known about the extent of damage to these crossings after the impact.

"As for the 500,000-volt Taman substation, it is a key facility in the main infrastructure of the power grid on the Taman Peninsula. It ensures the transit of energy from the Unified Energy System of the South of Russia and is the main connecting node of the energy bridge. If this substation is taken out of service, we can forget about the energy bridge. But this substation is a huge facility, 550 by 550 meters, or an area of ​​​​more than a quarter of a square kilometer. To seriously damage it, not one, but many blows are needed," says an energy engineer from Simferopol.

According to him, electricity is transmitted from the power line across the Crimean peninsula through three main substations - the Kamysh-Burun 220 kV substation in Kerch, the Kafa 220 kV substation in Feodosia, and the final point is the 220 kV open switchgear (OSG) of the Simferopolyanskaya 330 kV substation. The OSG provides the output and flow of energy along the power line, including directions to other nodal substations and the energy bridge.

Damage to the above-mentioned substations was previously reported several times during the summer of this year.

The scheme and coordinates are known

“The scheme of the Crimean power system is well known, because this is our, Ukrainian peninsula. Ukrainian energy experts reliably know everything about each facility. After the annexation, Russia built thermal power plants, an energy bridge and modernized some electrical substations in Crimea, but these are all public events, information about the parameters is publicly available. Therefore, the task for the Defense Forces of Ukraine here is a little easier than on the territory of Russia,” a military expert from Crimea, a former Ukrainian officer, a reserve lieutenant colonel, told Crimea.Realii on condition of anonymity.

According to experts, there is a clear sequence of Ukrainian attacks on energy facilities, which are put out of service at the right moment, leaving entire areas without energy supply.

“This systematic work has already begun to bear fruit. The Russian military, especially its air defense and electronic warfare, is already running out of electricity and is forced to spend fuel, which is scarce in Crimea, on the operation of generators. Russians who settled on the peninsula after 2014 are starting to leave it, fleeing the consequences of a large-scale war. These are the results that the Ukrainian command planned,” notes a reserve officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.