Key takeaways from the DTEK Odesa Grids environmental program

Thermal power generation11 March 2021

DTEK Odesa Grids preserves biodiversity and protects the environment in the region. So, during 2020, the company installed 26 nesting platforms for storks, 1,340 reflective bird diverters, replaced more than 5,000 fluorescent lamps with LED ones, and successfully passed an audit having received certificates for compliance of occupational health and safety and environmental management systems with international standards.

In 2020, DTEK Odesa Grids installed 26 nesting platforms for storks and 1,340 reflective diverters on the 110 kV high-voltage power line named "Adjalyk-Sychavka" in the Limansky District of Odesa Region to preserve biodiversity. Such an initiative has already saved at least 170 storks. Plans for 2021 include the installation of another 60 platforms and 779 bird protection devices.

Preservation of the natural environment in the region is also one of the DTEK Odesa Grids priority tasks. In 2020, the company replaced 5,077 mercury-containing lighting fixtures with energy-efficient LED lamps. There are plans to replace another 5,500 fluorescent lamps with safe and efficient LEDs in 2021. By the end of 2023, the company plans to stop using mercury lamps completely. DTEK Odesa Grids collects used fluorescent lamps and sends them for disposal to contractors licensed by the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection.

In addition, the company plans to completely stop using oil-filled circuit breakers at the Ukraine’s first closed-type 110/20 kV Chubaevka substation in 2021. The substation will be equipped with modern equipment of 110 kV and 20 kV voltage class, which is harmless to the environment and meets the fire safety requirements.

“DTEK is transforming the business according to the New 2030 Strategy, based on ESG principles, values and business responsibility for progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Global Compact. DTEK Odesa Grids, being a conscious company, cares about the safety of employees and customers, as well as the environment and confirms this through international standardization certificates,” says Oleksandr Fomenko, DTEK Odesa Grids CEO.

In 2020, DTEK Odesa Grids successfully passed an audit and received certificates for compliance of occupational health & safety and environmental management systems with ISO 45001:2018 and ISO 14001:2015 international standards.

Auditors highly appreciated such areas of work as the installation of nesting platforms for storks on power poles, mandatory measures to reduce the negative impact on the environment included into construction and renovation projects of power facilities, the organization of waste sorting and disposal, and the like.

The audit took place in Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, Belyaevsky, Yuzhny, Tsentralny Distribution Zone, in the Odesa section of the centralized repair shop, as well as in the management and the ESH department of DTEK Odesa Grids. During 2021-2022, the audit will be carried out in the remaining divisions.