Indicator 3 - Households with access to electricity


Vector Value Calculation:

We can consider 99% of Ukrainian population to have access to electricity. This figure hardly changed from 1990 to 1999.

Vector Value:

1990 vector ~ 1-(99/100) ~ 0,01 

1999 vector ~ 1-(99/100) ~ 0,01 

Ukraine has well-developed electricity distribution network which is covering all of the inhabited area. We can consider virtually all households to have access to electricity with minor exceptions.

From the early years of the USSR (which Ukraine was part of till 1991) industrialisation and development of energy system was priority for the government. "Communism is the power of Soviets plus electrification of the whole country" - this formula proposed by the leader of communist revolution became a pithy saying. As other reasons for developed electricity network we can mention high industrial capacity of Ukraine, transit role and extremely small number of the out-of-the-way places.

However, electrification can not be consider complete:

  • There are settlements where few people (one-three houses) live and which are relatively far from the grid. Number of people living in such conditions is paltry when compared to the total population,
  • There are territories in Ukraine declared to be zones of unconditional resettlement due to the high level of radioactive pollution caused by Chernobyl disaster. These territories are cut off the grid. However, some inhabitants refuse to live their hoses and keep living there.
  • As a result of difficult economic situation and luck of culture, electrical wires and equipment are stolen every day to be sold as scrap metal. This leads to regular de-energising of areas.
  • Finally, for years Ukraine experiences luck of electricity. In this situation energy distributors forced to do rolling blackouts through the regions. Thus, consumers are not able to use electricity despite being technically connected to the grid.
Centralised electricity supply has a role to play in electricity shortages experienced by consumers. There is a lack of energy sources independent from the centralised grid. Potential of the local small energy sources was ignored. In particularly. Ukraine has great potential for small-scale hydro, which was once in used but neglected last decades.

Transport of the electricity through the network in Ukraine lead to 19.97% loose in 2000 (30.9 TWh compared to gross consumption 154.7 TWh) [Ref. 14]. Naturally, these looses are reflected in the electricity price for final consumers.