Sevastopol struggles to provide promised “two hours of power out of eight” as outages hit Crimea following new Ukrainian strikes

Sevastopol, the Black Sea port city in Crimea, is struggling to provide the promised "two hours of power out of eight" after sustained Ukrainian strikes on its energy infrastructure, according to Russian-appointed city governor Mikhail Razvozhayev. The outages have also affected towns like Alushta, Saki, Yevpatoriya, and Kerch. The Russian authorities cannot restore stable power supply due to insufficient incoming power.

Energy workers announced the lifting of restrictions on Nov. 2, but after an overnight attack, they had to be reintroduced, and the promised level of service could not be maintained. Mass outages have been ongoing since June, with the Sevastopol authorities abandoning their initial schedule due to capacity issues. The city primarily receives electricity from outside, but the volume of incoming power is not enough to sustain the "two by six" schedule.

Energy repair work is underway, but the timeframe for eliminating the consequences is unknown. The current restrictions followed a significant power outage on Oct. 24, where about 40% of the city had electricity, and others were being reconnected.