An outdated and weak electricity system is a common problem for protected areas in mountain regions. To overcome the dramatic issues of the electricity system in the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve (CBR), the new central 40 kW power generator was installed (for comparison, 7 kW power generator is enough for a house with electrical heating, air conditioning, and a boiler).

The administration of the CBR is located on a large campus, near the city of Rakhiv with a total of seven functional buildings being separated on the territory of the reserve administration (central administration, museum, garage, research laboratories, etc.). It is about 40 offices in total, where 70 employees work. The power generator had rescued all these people, said Vasyl Pokynchereda, Deputy Head of the Research Department:

At the end of 2022, we had a difficult period, with almost no electricity during the working day (because of the Russian shelling of Ukrainian infrastructure. — editor). The power generator ensured the operation of the central building of the reserve, where the management, scientific, and environmental units are concentrated.

The workers set up a separate room for the generator. It helped the employees even before russian full-scale invasion but now, says Mykola Grechuk, an employee of CBR, it is invaluable:

The equipment is just what we need. We are very grateful. Especially when the electricity is turned off, it is invaluable. We have about 100 computers, the Internet, and electricity. Our heating is coal-fired, but the boiler room runs on electricity.

Moreover, when there is no electricity, the CBR becomes an inofficial Point of Invincibility where the reservation’s neighbors charge phones, get warm and heat water.