Reni substation damaged by Russian attack could not be repaired in a week

The repair of the power substation in Reni, Izmail district, Odesa region, which was damaged by the Russian attack, has been delayed for more than a week.

Local residents told Intent that electricity is currently supplied for no more than two hours a day and the voltage in the grid is not enough to reach the required 220V.

All critical infrastructure in the city is powered by generators, which leads to significant fuel costs. Efforts to find out from DTEK Odesa Power Grids when the power supply will be restored to an acceptable level have been unsuccessful. In addition, there are rumors circulating in the town that transformers that were to be used to repair the substation in Reni were urgently transported to Izmail to restore power supply there, which was disrupted by another Russian strike.

"It seems that our city has been forgotten. In Izmail, the power supply was restored in a day, but we have not had it for more than a week. Meanwhile, everything in the city is running on generators, including customs and hospitals. We expect prices to rise soon, as fuel costs more than 59 hryvnias per liter at gas stations, both gasoline and diesel. How long will entrepreneurs be able to bear such costs without raising prices? We tried to find out when the electricity will be turned back on, but we didn't get any accurate information," complained local resident Maria.

Meanwhile, DTEK Odesa Power Grids' chatbot provides information that the estimated resumption of consumption in Reni is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. on December 31, 2025.

Intent asked DTEK Odesa Power Grids for a comment, and the company's press service said it was looking into the situation and promised to provide a response later.

On the night of November 11, a Russian air attack in Odesa region resulted in one person being injured and a Ukrzaliznytsia depot being damaged. This time, the cities of Izmail and Reni came under attack. The damaged depot is located in the latter. The city also has a power outage due to a fire at a substation. Local residents were informed that the repairs should take up to two days. According to DTEK, 16,000 families were left without electricity.

Кирило Бойко