«The Energy Island» can provide 65% of the power needed to keep Mykolaiv region’s critical infrastructure running during a blackout

Vitalii Kim, Head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, archive photo from NikVesti

Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, has reported that the ‘energy island’ has already been activated twice in the region. It provides 65% of the region’s critical infrastructure during blackouts.

The head of the Regional Military Administration made this statement in an interview with Ukrinform.

«I can say that the «island» is working. This is the result of cooperation between the authorities, businesses and international partners. We have already tested this system, activating it twice — when, following shelling, there was a threat of heating being cut off across the whole of Mykolaiv. It now enables us to provide 65 per cent of the city’s critical infrastructure during blackouts; we aim to increase this figure to 91 per cent. This is set out in our resilience plan. We are trying to restructure the system so that more energy from alternative sources (sun, wind) is supplied from the region to the city of Mykolaiv, as there are still certain difficulties with this,» said Vitalii Kim.

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Previously, Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, had stated that despite the region generating ten times more electricity than it consumes, residents would still face power cuts according to the scheduled blackout timetable, as is the case across Ukraine. In the event of emergencies, he said, the «Island» plan would come into effect in the region in the event of power cuts.

«Energy Island»: what does it mean?

In December 2024, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych announced plans to create an «energy island» in the city, which would ensure a stable heat supply during large-scale power cuts.

According to him, the so-called «energy island» in Mykolaiv would enable the city to be supplied with electricity for at least a few hours during prolonged power cuts.

In Pivdennoukrainsk, residents demanded that power cut schedules be eased

As is known, in Pivdennoukrainsk, local residents complained at a council meeting about prolonged power cuts, whilst the city has no alternative energy sources. In this regard, the mayor sent official letters to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, Ukrenergo and the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration requesting that Pivdennoukrainsk be granted the status of a “high-security facility” and that the lack of gas supply be taken into account.

During a press conference, the Pivdennoukrainsk City Council informed residents that it had appealed to state authorities to review the power cut schedules, but received a response stating that granting the city ‘special conditions’ would be considered discrimination against other consumers.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Energy promised to review the current conditions governing the power cut schedules in the city of Pivdennoukrainsk.

According to Vitaliy Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, the issue was raised during a meeting in Kharkiv dedicated to the functioning of frontline regions. Among other topics, the situation regarding power cuts in Pivdennoukrainsk was also discussed.