DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids installed more than 500 casings to protect birds from electrocution in 2021
Environmental protection is one of the important focus areas of the company. Therefore, the energy workers install bird protective coverings. These are polymer protective casings for insulators and nearby wires that prevent birds from colliding with energized equipment. They are lightweight, strong, weatherproof, and their service life is up to 40 years.
“DTEK is transforming its business in accordance with the New 2030 Strategy, based on ESG principles, values and business responsibility for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Global Compact. In 2021, we began to place casings for the first time. The first protective coverings were installed on a 10 kV overhead line in Yagotin. The rest are on two lines at the Mironovsky power center. One of them runs along the valley of the Potok river between the villages of Kutelev and Potok, and the second is along the road between the villages of Grushev and Khodorov. Throughout the year, the company's energy workers installed 504 casings and this year we are planning to pursue this initiative. This way, we care about the biodiversity preservation in the region,” says Vitaliy Shaida, Head of DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids.
DTEK together with ornithologists identify the locations to install the casings. They survey territories and identify line sections potentially dangerous for birds, considering their seasonal migration and habitat halo, as well as the recommendations of UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) and BirdLife International.
In addition, in 2021, as part of the environmental educational project #EnergyWings, DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids installed 56 stork nesting platforms. Over two years, 97 bird nests have been strengthened in the Kyiv region. Thanks to this initiative, it is estimated that the company will save from death almost 700 birds listed in the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats in two years. The company also established 30 artificial nests for long-eared owls and scoops in the Alexandria Dendrological Park of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in the city of Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region.