DTEK Dnipro Grids did more than 16,000 maintenances without turning off power to customers
The maintenance without switching power off is a global practice that has only recently begun to be utilized in Ukraine. The pilot project was launched in Dnipropetrovsk Region - first in the Magdalinovsky area, and then in other areas of Dnipropetrovsk Region. The energy workers were trained in Poland, and after that they trained colleagues in the field. They are now sharing their best practices with colleagues from other DSOs.
“DTEK serves the interests of customers and sets the benchmark of customer service in Ukraine. More than 830 employees of DTEK Dnipro Grids have already studied the European technology. We bought certified protective equipment and special tools. Now a number of works, such as maintenances, connection to networks, work on metering boards, are carried out without switching power off. In 2021, we plan to develop this area and create a fully equipped training ground, where our specialists and colleagues from other areas will be trained,” says Andrii Tereshchiuk, DTEK Dnipro Grids CEO.
The technology of doing the job without switching off the power supply is now used to do the maintenances in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Pavlograd, Nikopol, Novomoskovsk and other areas of the region. Over the past year, the energy workers performed 14,900 works in metering boards and 1,500 on 0.4 kV overhead lines, which directly supply administrative buildings and residential buildings. During the maintenances, the power in their homes was not turned off.
In 2021, the company plans to expand this project and carry out work not only at 0.4 kV facilities, but also on 10 kV high-voltage lines. The investment program-2021 allocates UAH 19 million for these purposes. They are earmarked to purchase special tools, protective equipment and devices, including a specialized elevated work platform, as well as technical equipment of the training ground in the village of Mezhirich, Pavlograd Region.
As previously reported, in 2021, the energy company will invest more than UAH 1 billion in the electrical infrastructure of Dnipropetrovsk Region. DTEK Dnipro Grids will reconstruct two large substations of 150 and 35 kV in Dnipro and Marganets and implement 14 projects that will increase the reliability of power supply for residents of the region and the efficiency of emergency response.