Exclusive: Kyiv Will Be Fully Prepared for This Winter Only by the End of March 2027

Kyiv will not be fully prepared for winter until late March 2027, as damaged power plants, limited local generation, and dependence on external electricity supplies leave the capital vulnerable.

Kyiv’s own power generation capacity meets no more than 4% of its electricity needs, Volodymyr Omelchenko, director of energy programs at the Razumkov Centre, told UNIAN in a comment, answering a question about whether Kyiv currently has any power generation capacity of its own and how dependent it is on electricity supplies from western Ukraine.

“Kyiv has virtually no power generation capacity of its own because it has been destroyed. The only generation facility it had was the Trypillia Thermal Power Plant. We are talking not about Kyiv itself, but the Kyiv region. The Trypillia Thermal Power Plant has been damaged, primarily, and is currently not operating due to drone strikes. The Kyiv CHPP-4, CHPP-5, and CHPP-6 thermal power plants have also been damaged and are effectively not generating electricity,” Omelchenko explained.

According to him, distributed power generation in Kyiv remains very poorly developed and is not even sufficient to meet the needs of critical infrastructure.

“Panteleev, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko’s deputy, said that only 65 MW of generating capacity has been built. Meanwhile, Kyiv needs up to 2–2.3 GW of power capacity in winter. This means that only 3–4% of its needs are met by its own generation,” the expert said.

“Kyiv depends on external supplies for more than 95% of its electricity, meaning supplies from Ukraine’s integrated power system. It is cut off along this energy ring around Kyiv, and that is all there is to it. As of today, this energy island cannot function as a standalone power unit…,” Omelchenko concluded.

He noted that over the past four years, it would have been possible to build distributed generation facilities of various types, so-called “energy cells.” By now, the Kyiv region could have had an additional 500–600 MW of generating capacity, which would have made the situation completely different.

“Unfortunately, no efforts were made in this direction,” the expert concluded.