Russia has found a way to cut Ukraine’s power lines that no repair crew can undo. A unique power transmission tower that a Russian drone cut down at the Dnipro River crossing in Kyiv cannot be restored, Ukrenergo board chairman Vitaliy Zaichenko says, as the grid operator rushes to build alternative ways to keep electricity flowing, Interfax reports.
Russia has spent the war trying to switch off Ukraine’s lights. Now, it is widening the campaign before winter with a new tactic: drones that slice through the steel towers carrying high-voltage lines.
“Everyone has seen the video showing the destruction of one of the unique power transmission towers at the crossing over the Dnipro in Kyiv. It was severed, and it is impossible to restore it,” Zaichenko continues.
He adds that now the company is developing new technical solutions "on the fly, and very fast." It will start the procedures for those solutions from 15 October, he notes. Russia’s use of drones able to sever metal towers is a new and serious challenge for Ukraine’s power engineers.
Zaichenko did not say when the tower was hit. On 30 September, Russia first used a jet-powered drone carrying a 40-kilogram charge built to cut steel towers, and that evening an eyewitness filmed one striking a power line tower in Kyiv, which cut electricity in parts of three districts, Informator reported.
Rebuilding is colliding with a global shortage. Ukrenergo faces serious difficulties getting backup equipment, Zaichenko explains, because the whole world’s energy system is expanding at once and everyone needs the same hardware.
“There is a real problem with equipment. The global power system is expanding, and everyone needs energy equipment. There is a tough queue,” Zaichenko says.
Ukraine has faced such challenges since August 2026, when Russia began launching its jet-powered drones. Kyiv still has no effective solution against them and relies more on a mix of air defenses, such as automated turrets and interceptor drones.
Kyiv has also engaged over 100 private air defense system brigades to protect its enterprises in the ranks of the Ukrainian Air Forces.
Quito, Guayaquil, and other Ecuadorian provinces experienced unscheduled blackouts during the night of Tuesday, October 13, and the early hours of Wednesday, October 14, with no official statements explaining the causes or scope of the outages.
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In Quito, the interruptions began around 11:00 PM on Tuesday in neighborhoods such as Ponceano Bajo, La Concepción, La Magdalena, Guamaní, Guajaló, Sangolquí (El Carmen), and the Atahualpa roundabout. According to reports shared on social media, the outages lasted more than six consecutive hours in several zones.
Meanwhile, in Guayaquil, users reported power cuts in the north and south of the city, including Sauces 4, areas near the main bus terminal (Terminal Terrestre), Durán, and Playas Villamil. Citizen reports indicated outages that, in some locations, lasted for several hours.
The impact was not limited to the two major cities. Users in the Sierra region reported cuts in Ambato and Riobamba; on the Coast, outages were recorded in cantons within Manabí, Esmeraldas, and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas; while in the Amazon region, failures were reported in Zamora Chinchipe.
“There is no warning, no schedule, and we are left in the dark across the country. We demand that the electric utility companies explain what is happening,” citizens stated, addressing Empresa Eléctrica Quito, CNEL EP, and CELEC.
As of the early hours of Wednesday, neither the Ministry of Energy nor the regional distribution companies had issued an official report regarding the causes of the outages or potential measures to restore service.
📈#Economía | Los cortes de energía de hasta 72 horas semanales y los costos de autogeneración preocupan a los sectores camaronero y bananero por las posibles repercusiones en sus operaciones.#LaRadioDeLasNoticias
— Radio Pichincha (@radio_pichincha) October 14, 2026
Los detalles⤵️https://t.co/f9jHO4mMzW pic.twitter.com/D5UyeQosEt
The text reads, “Power outages lasting up to 72 hours a week and the costs of self-generation are causing concern within the shrimp and banana sectors due to the potential impact on their operations.”
The blackouts come just days after President Daniel Noboa had assured the public that “no Ecuadorian family will experience power cuts.” The leader maintained that power plants such as Toachi Pilatón and the leasing of power barges would help avert rationing.
Industry specialists warn that Ecuador is grappling with a deficit of between 1,300 and 1,800 megawatts (MW).
Electricity situation
Ecuador is facing renewed strain on its electrical system during the dry season, characterized by a marked drop in water levels at strategic reservoirs and an increased reliance on thermal power generation. This situation particularly affects the Paute hydroelectric complex, which is vital for the national power supply.
The Mazar reservoir, located in the Paute River basin across the provinces of Azuay, Cañar, and Morona Santiago, is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in Ecuador’s electrical system. Its storage capacity sustains the operation of the Paute complex—comprising the Mazar, Paute-Molino, and Sopladora plants—which has a combined installed capacity of 1,756 megawatts (MW).
Reduced water availability in this basin can directly impact hydroelectric generation and, by extension, the country’s electricity supply.
On Tuesday, the Mazar hydroelectric plant remained offline for a 24-hour period spanning Monday and Tuesday, during which time its reservoir level recovered by at least one meter.
Reported data shows that the Mazar water level rose from 2,124 to 2,125 meters above sea level (masl) on October 14. Despite this recovery, the reservoir remained just 10 meters above its minimum operating level, reflecting the extreme pressure on the hydroelectric system.
Values of the Marzar reservoir, flow rate and elevation
Due to the drop in hydroelectric generation, thermal power plants met 27% of the national electricity demand. The increased use of thermal power plants aims to partially offset the deficit resulting from falling reservoir levels and reduced generation capacity at the Paute complex.
Energy expert Alejandro Jaya noted that the Amaluza reservoir recorded a drop of 7.61 meters—an unprecedented figure in available historical records.
Although the Molino power plant kept nine turbines running near their rated capacity for nearly eight hours, the loss of hydraulic head ultimately reduced its generation capacity. Against this backdrop, the Mazar plant took on the critical load and began releasing water through its turbines to feed the Amaluza reservoir and sustain production at the Paute complex.
The combination of the dry season, falling reservoir levels, and a generation deficit continues to place the Ecuadorian electrical system under strain. The situation at Mazar and Amaluza highlights the country’s reliance on hydroelectric power and the energy matrix’s vulnerability to hydrological fluctuations.
Petroecuador reported an oil spill in the Cupa River in Quinindé canton, Esmeraldas province, Ecuador, on Monday, October 12, after a crude leak in the SOTE pipeline.
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 13, 2026
Army troops contained the leak after detecting it. As a preventive measure, the water company ordered the… pic.twitter.com/5tXzfCry8p
Britain is heading towards blackouts because of its overreliance on renewables, says energy expert Richard Lyon, who explains how Britain's power grid works and why Net Zero is making it vulnerable to severe outages.
The post Britain is Heading Towards Blackouts appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Power outages have returned to Kyiv after Russian attacks damaged the energy infrastructure supplying the capital, with authorities warning that the situation could worsen as Russia intensifies its campaign against Ukraine’s energy system ahead of winter.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power, heating, and other critical infrastructure to disrupt the systems civilians depend on and create a humanitarian crisis during winter. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that this winter will be especially severe, as Russia has expanded its strike capabilities since the summer and Ukraine continues to face shortages of air-defense systems needed to protect its energy infrastructure.
Ukrenergo said on 8 October that emergency outages were being imposed in parts of Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast because of falling voltage in the high-voltage network. Previously announced hourly schedules were suspended, with predictable schedules to resume once the system stabilizes.
In the evening, further disruption came after a Russian attack on an energy facility important to Kyiv. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said that energy workers were working to restore power.
Kyiv has been under Russian attack throughout the day, with four people killed and 19 injured.
The attack continues into the evening of 8 October, with air raid alerts active across most of the country.
The damage throughout the day quickly spread beyond electricity.
The Kyiv City Military Administration said power disruptions temporarily halted metro trains and escalators. Part of the capital’s public transport system was also suspended because of the lack of electricity.
Reduced power to water infrastructure caused lower pressure on the right bank of the Dnipro, particularly in the Holosiivskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi districts. Some buildings could temporarily lose water, the administration warned.
The outages come as Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of the heating season.
Ukrenergo said Russian attacks had caused new power outages in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. The company said damaged equipment was already limiting the grid’s ability to supply consumers and warned that further Russian strikes could rapidly change the situation.
For 9 October, Ukrenergo announced all-day power restrictions in affected regions, including hourly outages for some consumers. Industrial and business consumers will also face restrictions. The company urged Ukrainians to conserve electricity, particularly during the evening peak from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Ukraine’s energy authorities have been warning about the consequences of repeated Russian attacks for months. In late September, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said attacks on energy facilities had been occurring almost daily since the summer, with the September 29–30 attack marking the first massive combined strike on the energy system since the previous heating season.
The renewed strikes mark the beginning of Russia’s winter campaign against the energy system, with Russian missiles and drones increasingly targeting power-generation and transmission infrastructure in Kyiv and surrounding regions.
The campaign follows years of Russian attacks aimed at disrupting the infrastructure that keeps Ukrainian homes heated and supplied with electricity and water during the winter.
In August, Russia’s Defense Ministry openly taunted Ukrainians over its attacks on energy-related infrastructure, posting images of attack drones with the message that Ukrainians would “get a freeze” in winter.
Russia’s strategy has repeatedly linked attacks on electricity infrastructure to disruptions in heating and water supplies. This makes damage to the power grid particularly consequential as temperatures fall: a strike on an electrical facility can leave not only homes without lights, but also affect water pumps, heating systems, transportation, and other essential services.
The return of blackouts to Kyiv before the heating season is fully underway is an early indication of the pressure Russia’s renewed energy campaign is putting on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.
Restoring the grid after a nationwide outage could take as long as two weeks, says Kathryn Porter. So you need to be prepared. Here’s what every household needs – from torches to generators and keeping warm safely.
The post How to Prepare for a Blackout appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
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