No electricity in Kyiv means no water either – "Kyivvodokanal"
Kyivvodokanal has warned that without electricity, the capital will have no water. Significant voltage fluctuations are causing outdated equipment to fail.
Serhii Horkutsenko, deputy director general of Kyivvodokanal, said this in an interview with Ekonomichna Pravda, Censor.NET reports.
Details
"Water is not electricity. It cannot be switched on and off using buttons on a meter. It is a system with inertia. If the power goes out, switching to a second power line or a generator takes time.
The problem is not so much power outages as very large voltage fluctuations. All of the water utility’s electrical equipment dates back to the 1970s. It simply cannot withstand such fluctuations and burns out. Our remaining electricians have to switch over this electrical equipment," he explained.
Why is the water supply being interrupted now?
Horkutsenko said Kyivvodokanal had lost 40% of its staff over four years.
"Because our tariff is frozen, people have quit. Because of frozen tariffs and the 50% mobilization exemption quota. Thank God, two years ago they gave us that 75%, but you cannot bring someone back once they have left," he said.
"If the question is: how long can the water utility keep operating without an external power supply? Well, as things stand, there will be no water. I understand who will get the blame... If there is no electricity in the city, there will be no water," Kyivvodokanal added.
