Half of Kyiv residents still without electricity after strikes
Nearly half of Kyiv residents were still without electricity as engineers battled to restore services two days after Russian strikes hammered the country's energy grid.
Systematic and targeted Russian attacks for weeks have brought Ukraine's energy infrastructure to its knees as the country careens towards a freezing winter, spurring fears of a health crisis and a further exodus, nine months into war. Municipal workers struggled to reconnect essential services such as heat and water as temperatures in Kyiv approached freezing and UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited to announce a new aid package.
"Half of consumers are still without electricity," Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. "A third of houses in Kyiv already have heating and specialists continue to restore it." "During the day, energy companies plan to reconnect electricity for all consumers on an alternating basis," he wrote on Telegram.
Lines of cars queued outside petrol stations in Kyiv to stock up, journalists said. Mobile networks in some areas were still experiencing disruptions. Nationwide, repair work was ongoing, said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, head of national electricity operator Ukrenergo, but insisted that "the most difficult stage" had passed.
Ukrenergo said that producers were providing more than 70 percent of the need across the country. Telstra, Australia's largest telecom provider, was found having taken credit management action against 70 customers, who were on a financial hardship arrangement with the telco.
In a press release, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said that it has directed Telstra to comply with relevant rules. Any further non-compliance could lead to significant consequences for Telstra, with penalties of up to 250,000 Australian dollars (about 169,000 U.S. dollars), the authority warned.
Under Australia's telecommunications code, telcos must suspend credit management action, which can include service suspensions, disconnections or debt collection, while a financial hardship arrangement is being discussed or is in place.