Electricity exports and outages: more than a megawatt problem
Kharchenko links exports during outages to grid damage. Ukrenergo confirms transmission constraints but provides no export figures in its system update.
On November 6, 2026, the outlet Strana reported an explanation by Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Research Center: Ukraine is compelled to export electricity during outages because damaged high-voltage networks prevent it from reaching consumers in Kyiv, Odesa and some other regions. This explanation concerns not only how much energy is generated, but whether it can be transmitted to places without power.
The logic of Kharchenko’s reported explanation is that electricity available in one part of the system cannot necessarily meet demand in another if the networks between them are damaged. Outages therefore do not, by themselves, rule out the possibility of exports. However, Ukrenergo’s published November 6 system update gives neither export volumes nor delivery hours: it confirms transmission and voltage problems, not the claim that exports were unavoidable that day.
According to the operator, emergency outages covering five consumer groups were introduced on November 6 in Kyiv and the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv and Cherkasy regions. Ukrenergo said these were necessary to prevent voltage from falling in the power system after Russian attacks. Some regions had scheduled hourly outages covering between 2.5 and four groups, alongside power restrictions for industry. These groups describe sets of consumers, not the number of hours without electricity.
Later on November 6, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a further deterioration in the capital’s power supply following damage to an energy facility in Zhytomyr. Water pressure also dropped. He said Kyivvodokanal was switching stations to generators wherever possible. Damage outside the city thus left its residents facing not only electricity outages but disrupted water supplies as well.
Assessing export decisions requires more than a general statement about damaged networks. It requires comparable hourly data: how much electricity was delivered abroad, what transmission constraints applied and whether that capacity could have served disconnected consumers. This is a matter of accountability for the operator and energy authorities, not grounds to declare every export either an abuse or a technical necessity in advance.
For November 7, Ukrenergo announced scheduled hourly outages covering between two and four consumer groups in some regions, along with industrial power restrictions, within the period 00:00–23:59. This is the period during which restrictions apply, not an announcement that every home will be disconnected for an entire day. The operator warned that further Russian attacks could change the situation.
Residents should check information for their address with their local distribution operator: previously published schedules do not apply during emergency outages. Ukrenergo also asks people not to switch on several high-powered appliances at once when electricity returns, as the extra load can lower voltage and damage wiring inside residential buildings.
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