Russia’s missile attack on one of Kyiv’s Combined Heat and Power Plants (CHP) in the fall of 2022 caused significant damage: a fire broke out and the plant lost its power. All relay protection and automation mechanisms that ensure the failure-free operation of heat and power equipment stopped working.
Andrii Yur, deputy head of the electrical shop for relay protection and automation of Kyivski TET SD, CU Kyivteploenergo, has been maintaining this complex equipment for 20 years. His area of responsibility is the protection of power units, transformers, power lines, and auxiliary equipment of the power plant.
“Half the city was without electricity. The operating personnel performed all the operations manually, which is very difficult and dangerous. A few hours after the Russian attack, we managed to energize the plant,” says Andrii Yur.
After the power supply to the city’s critical infrastructure was restored, the priority was to stabilize the plant’s power supply. To do this, another temporary power supply scheme was developed, saving the city from blackouts during the next missile attack on the plant when one of the lines was damaged.
The energy team worked overtime and on weekends. Andrii Yur was able to develop and implement a relay protection and automation scheme for transformers, which partially restored equipment operation and ensured automatic control of 110 and 330 kV lines. These lines are designed for transmitting substantial power capacities between power stations and large regional substations to supply electricity to major cities or economic regions at distances ranging from 30 to 600 km.
Later, Andrii Yur and his team managed to develop and implement systems for relay protection and automation of electrical equipment, which made it possible to reduce the duration of power outages in the capital.
On December 22, 2023, the President of Ukraine awarded Andrii Yur with the Order “For Courage of the III Degree” for personal courage and dedication when saving lives and eliminating the consequences of emergencies at the CHP, as well as for the tremendous work in restoring the damaged equipment.
Background information:
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Energy Security Project (ESP) has provided Kyivteploenergo (KTE):
- 11.2 km of pre-insulated pipes and shut-off fittings
- 137 electric generators
- 2637 tons of industrial salt
- 4 excavators
- 20,320 meters of cable products
- 15 pumps