Ukraine Update July 11
Power problems, In Brief, NATO Summit
Power Problems
Inside Russia did a good piece on the Russian power grid with unique insight — he helped build it. Long version here. In the 1980s, the USSR met its own production needs, but when the wall fell and then the curtain dropped, there was a sudden excess in capacity in a grid that was now somewhat privatized. The 1990s were rough as people fled the country and newly independent states disconnected from the Russian grid. Industries closed, and demand fell, which caused prices to collapse. This led to shortfalls in maintenance, but the excess generation capacity kept the grid functioning. In the early 2000s, Russia found itself flush with money, and demand started to rise as industries reopened their doors. The government stepped in and heavily subsidized updating the electrical grid, but to do so quickly, they relied on Western companies like GE and Siemens for transformers and new generators. Over the next two decades, the Russian grid was Westernized. Then, in 2022, the Western companies disappeared, and Russia was left without the maintenance and expertise to keep the lights on. Now, things are starting to fall apart. Spare parts aren’t available. Maintenance schedules are impossible to maintain.
All the Western equipment “is a ticking bomb” just waiting to fail, sometimes spectacularly. Generators, transformers, and more, just one tiny accident, one chance event from failure.
