Ukraine power grid operator halts restoration work for Crimea

Crimean Tatar activists succeeded on Nov. 26 in forcing a work stoppage by workers at Ukrenergo, the state operator of high-voltage power grids, who were restoring electricity to the Crimean peninsula after supplies were cut on Nov. 21. In exchange for renewed repairs, they demanded the release of Crimean Tatar political prisoners. “They are supposed to take some steps in returns,” Mustafa Dzhemilev, the president’s ombudsman on Crimean Tatar affairs, told a Nov. 25 press briefing in Kyiv. “I think they are supposed to, above all, release Ahmed Chiygoz, a renowned figure. But they’re not doing any of that. So there’s pressure from the community as to why should we turn on the electricity for them.”

An Ukrenergo crew performed the majority of the necessary work on Nov. 25 in restoring a key electricity line to Crimea, the pravda.com.ua news site reported. However, poor weather conditions that day prevented it completion. Contrary to the activists’ position, the Ukrainian government wants to renew electricity supply to Crimea out of concern that it will have to pay large fines to the Russian government for violating supply agreements, Dzhemilev said, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site.

Electricity supply to consumers of Simferopol, Crimea’s biggest city, was reduced on Nov. 26 to four hours a day from 12 hours, reported city administration head Gennady Bakharev via the flashcrimea.com news site. Supplies to Sevastopol were reduced to eight hours a day.

Zenon Zawada: The conflict over electricity has already exacerbated tensions between Moscow and Kyiv, prompting a coal export embargo from the Russian side. Cutting these supplies has been a very effective maneuver by the persecuted Crimean Tatars, but we don’t see Moscow caving into their demands any time soon. Instead, this has the potential to be a protracted conflict that could get nasty, especially if its spills into the Ukrainian mainland, where the downed supply lines are situated.