Vitalii Shaida: DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids clears vegetation near power grids to avoid outages

Thermal power generation03 December 2021

DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids keeps up with clearing vegetation near power grids. Since the beginning of the year, the company has cleared more than 3,000 kilometers of power grids. When trees and shrubs are pruned on time, then the risk of line breaks, especially in strong gusts of wind, is mitigated. Thus, there will be fewer outages for customers. The head of the company noted this during an online meeting with customers on Facebook as part of the #AskAboutTheLight project.

“DTEK is a reliable company that takes care of its customers and does everything to ensure that their homes always have lights on and comfort. The company specialists prune branches every year. Since the beginning of 2021, we have cleared vegetation near more than 3,000 km of power lines, and we plan to take care of almost 4,000 km by the end of the year,'' says Vitaliy Shaida, General Director for DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids. “However, this is not enough. When the weather gets really challenging, more line breaks and blackouts occur on 0.4 kV lines, near houses and gardens of residents. The main reason is that the branches are not pruned timely."

According to the head, it is not only DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids that should be involved in clearing the tree branches and overgrowth near the lines. Following the rules, owners and land users are responsible for greenery and their care. That is, residents of detached houses should prune trees and bushes in their own yards and backyards. The company, in turn, does routine trees pruning that grow in the security zone of overhead power lines.

Dangerous areas are identified when energy workers inspect the lines. Further, schedules are developed to arrange for vegetation clearing near power lines in all districts of the region. The company posts these scheduled works on its website and informs local public authorities (district, city, village, settlement councils, etc.). To make the pruning safe, the line is disconnected from the power supply. The date and time of power outage is determined for each settlement and street. Information about the outage reason and duration can be checked on the company's website in the No Power section. You can also find out about the interruption through the Merezhi Online mobile app (the application is available in the AppStore and Google Play Market) or send a DM on the DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids page on Facebook.

During the live stream, Vitaliy Shaida answered questions from the residents of the region. For example, why does DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids turn the electricity off routinely.

Full video recording of #AskAboutTheLight can be found here.

Readme: according to the Rules for the electrical network protection, it is prohibited to plant trees under power lines. To prevent outages, the company asks residents of detached houses not to plant tall trees, as well as to prune trees near the lines in good time. Owners or land users should clear vegetation if tree branches are closer than 1 meter to the 0.4 kV line, or if branches hang over the wires, or if trees may fall and damage power grids when the weather is bad. To do this, the landowners must apply to DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids for disconnection, coordinate the time and only then prune trees at least one meter from the power line.

DTEK Kyiv Regional Grids is obliged to disconnect the overhead lines at the request of the owners for safety reasons. But an owner himself prunes trees. Pruning should take place within a timeframe clearly defined by the company. The shutdown time is determined for each section of power grids (settlement). For this timeframe, people are admitted to the security zone of 0.4 kV power lines located within the territory of enterprises, institutions, organizations, household yards and farms. This is done so that owners can prune trees near power lines in their yards without any hazard to their health and life.