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adam zivo: canada has the power (generators) to help beat russia
sending generators to ukraine, which has been crippled by blackouts, would be a win-win for canadians
jul 6 2024
4 minute read
a woman in the ukrainian resort city of odesa uses a portable generator, which have been in extremely high demand since russia destroyed half the country's energy-generating capacity.
nikoletta stoyanova / getty images
crippling blackouts have resumed across ukraine after russia devastated the country’s electrical grid this spring. with energy shortages expected to persist deep into the winter, canada should step up and supply the ukrainians with portable generators, especially if this aid is structured in a way that supports canadian manufacturers.
since march, moscow has destroyed half of ukraine’s energy-generating capacity by bombing thermal power plants, hydroelectric power stations and energy storage facilities. these attacks were made possible by delays in western arms shipments earlier this year, which left ukrainian air defences so critically low on ammunition that missiles and drones routinely overwhelmed them.
ukraine’s remaining energy is predominantly supplied by nuclear power plants, which russia has mostly avoided targeting — no one wants another chernobyl or fukushima, it seems. but while this protects ukraine from total de-electrification, nuclear alone cannot meet national demand, even with increased electricity imports from western neighbours.
since may, power has been rationed across the country through the use of controlled blackouts that last around six to 20 hours a day, depending on the region and week. critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and train stations, is exempt from these cuts.
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the blackouts are the worst seen since the winter of 2022-23 , when russia first attacked ukraine’s electrical grid. ukrainian officials now worry that if summertime shortages are already so severe, then next winter may be calamitous — citizens could have to make do with only four hours of power a day. regular blackouts could even persist for two years, if not longer.
but ukrainian civilians have learned to adapt, to a certain extent. most businesses use small portable generators for backup power — their roar, along with the smell of gasoline and diesel, has become ubiquitous in urban areas. but these generators can be unreliable and insufficient to meet businesses’ needs, leading to reduced and interrupted services. food spoils. lights flicker off.
for people living in residential apartments, no power sometimes means no heating or water. cooking is impossible without a gas stove. elevators don’t work, which can be challenging for parents, the elderly and the disabled — especially those who reside on high floors. ukrainians live by flashlight at night, without internet, their mobile data slowed to a crawl. when power returns, they rush to charge their electronics and do laundry.
it would be prudent for us to help ukraine overcome these challenges, as the country’s survival bolsters our own national security — weakening russia helps to safeguard canada’s arctic from military incursions in the long-term, after all. yet our assistance on this file has been paltry thus far.
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earlier this month, canada committed $20 million towards helping ukraine replace its damaged energy equipment and infrastructure. that may sound like a lot, but, to put things into perspective, we spent almost $11 billion on international aid last year. we obviously can, and should, do more.
while repairing ukraine’s electrical grid is critical, perhaps canada could provide more immediate assistance by lending or donating a large number of portable generators. yes, many businesses already own small generators, but kyiv could deploy donated ones to fill in remaining gaps — for example: improving the electrification of nursing homes, schools, libraries and markets, and expanding access to communal warming and charging stations.
when ukraine first faced blackouts in late 2022, allies donated thousands of generators that helped maintain the country’s energy resiliency . why not scale up this proven model of support? such aid could actually flow back into our own communities, so long as the federal government made a concerted effort to include canadian manufacturers.
i spoke with mark dumont, a representative of westquip diesel sales , a canadian portable generator manufacturer, about the feasibility of such a scheme.
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he said that canadian manufacturers are small compared with their international competitors, and that products would have to be reconfigured for ukraine. because of high emission standards set by the canadian government in 2018, our generators are relatively complex and require specialized parts and servicing, which makes them difficult to maintain in less developed markets.
these smaller-output generators could still be easily reconfigured and immediately exported, he said, but building the production capacity for more powerful generators, at the lower efficiency standards that were the norm in canada before 2018, would require a significant order — at least several million dollars — and an estimated six months of lead time. for more immediate aid, canadian manufacturers could help the government procure large international generators for ukraine, he said. as these manufacturers regularly import foreign brands to sell alongside their own products, they understand global markets much better than bureaucrats with no industry experience.
dumont estimated that around five to 15 per cent of generator manufacturing costs go towards labour, which is fairly in line with industry norms. so a reasonable portion of any government orders would trickle down to canadian workers. however, as most generator parts (i.e. diesel engines) must be sourced from international vendors, government funds would largely not be reinvested into other kinds of domestic manufacturing.
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i think there’s an opportunity here. if the federal government were to send generators to ukraine — predominantly large international ones at first, followed by only canadian products — it could be a win-win scenario. not only would we support an ally and reinforce our own national security, we could help grow a small, but strategically important, domestic industry. sending aid abroad can create jobs back home, and expanding our manufacturing capacity for emergency items is not a bad idea in an increasingly dangerous world.
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