OREANDA-NEWS. December 25, 2012. Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon colleagues. This is the last deputy prime ministers meeting this year. I believe that our discussions are very useful because we can discuss both open issues and issues that are closed to the general public, and do it in a friendly atmosphere.

This is what we’ll begin with. We’ve had a long cold spell, which is quite unusual for December. Due to this some regions have encountered certain difficulties, if not problems. The Emergencies Minister reported to me on this issue yesterday. He spoke about the situation in Novosibirsk, Tyva and several other regions. Mr Kozak (addressing Dmitry Kozak), what is the situation there?

Dmitry Kozak: On the whole, this year we have had 16 accidents in the housing and utilities sector since the beginning of the heating season, which is not unusual, although the actual figure depends on temperatures. Three of these accidents developed into emergencies, meaning that heat had not been restored by the approved deadline, that is, within 36 hours. All of these incidents have been rectified, excluding in the Republic of Tyva. The situation can be described as an emergency because water didn’t reach the boiler house for a long time, resulting in a lack of heat for 103 residential blocks where 3,000 live.

Dmitry Medvedev: The minister told me yesterday that all of them have been resettled. Is this so?

Dmitry Kozak: Yes, they have been moved to temporary quarters, that is, 2,465 people have been moved, and the rest are staying with relatives and friends. Repairs are underway there, with half of the radiators replaced. One of the boiler rooms is to be started up today and it will begin heating the buildings. Overall, rescue teams numbering over 1,000 people are working there, delivering meals and clothes, and there is hope that the situation will be settled within the next two days. Heat distribution in the other regions where emergencies were reported, in particular, Novosibirsk, has been restored.

Dmitry Medvedev: I see.

Dmitry Kozak: As for the New Year holidays, instructions have been issued to the regional authorities, and through them to the municipal authorities, to approve duty charts for the holidays. These charts are to be submitted to the Federal Government so that we’ll be able to monitor compliance. We really need to do this, given the unusually low temperatures. In principle, we have done this before, but this year we need to be especially alert to be able to respond promptly to emergencies.

Dmitry Medvedev: Good. Do you want to add anything?

Arkady Dvorkovich: I wanted to mention Tyva, which is my responsibility. There were plans to replace the boiler, in the boiler room where the accident happened, next summer. But the accident happened before we had a chance to do this. The head of the republican government has asked the Federal Government to provide  modular boiler systems from the state reserve, and we considered their application. A modular system is being delivered to Tyva from a military unit in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, which should settle the issue.

Dmitry Medvedev: We must do it one way or another, because people must be able to return to their flats in the next few days. So we must settle the issue.