Power shortage forces oil pressing plant in Kyiv region to suspend operations

The Ellada oil pressing plant in Kyiv region has effectively halted operations due to electricity shortages, receiving power for only about six hours per day on average, the plant’s owner, Vitalii Averkin, told Latifundist.com.

Operating on diesel generators is economically unjustified for this type of production. According to Averkin, the plant requires around 800 kW of actual load per hour. Under such conditions, a 1 MW generator consumes approximately 200–210 liters of diesel per hour, and in frosty conditions down to minus 20°C, consumption rises to 220–225 liters.

“A liter of winter diesel costs UAH 57–58. There is cheaper fuel at UAH 54–55, but it can only withstand temperatures down to minus 10°C. Many generators do not have fuel heating systems, so the fuel can freeze, and that also has to be taken into account. As a result, the cost of electricity generated reaches roughly UAH 16 per kWh,” he said.

Averkin added that the plant has export contracts in place but has been forced to suspend operations specifically due to the electricity deficit.

According to him, the company has a separate 40 kW generator for office needs, which allows it to maintain administrative operations, but not production.

“Perhaps at oilseed crushing plants the economics may still work somehow, but we are a pressing plant — it’s a different calculation here. If there are no 15 hours of electricity per day, you have to burn up to 4,000 liters of diesel daily. I know of cases in Odesa region where a fuel truck is constantly on standby near a plant — it just keeps running for fuel non-stop. But for us, this is not economically viable,” Averkin added.