OREANDA-NEWS. July 23, 2007. A meeting was held in St.-Petersburg to discuss the current state and development prospects of the North-West Federal Okrug's electricity sector. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative to the North-West Federal Okrug Yevgeny Lukyanov. The Meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation Andrey Dementyev, Head of the Development Department of RAO "UES of Russia" Andrey Lukin and the Governors of the regions comprising the North-West Federal Okrug.

Currently, a series of such meetings is held under the auspices of the regional authorities in the Federal Okrugs and the Russian Federation Industry and Energy Ministry. The meetings seek to promote cooperation between the federal and regional authorities and RAO UES energy companies in implementing the Master Plan for the Location of Energy Facilities Until 2020, including the Investment Programme of RAO "UES of Russia" for the period until 2010.

Previously, on 2 July 2007, a similar meeting was held in Chelyabinsk (the Urals Federal Okrug), on 18 July 2007, in Nizhny Novgorod (the Privolzhsky Federal Okrug), and on 19 July 2007, in Rostov-na-Donu (the Southern Federal Okrug). In the very near future, such meetings will be also held in the Siberian Federal Okrug and the Far East Federal Okrug.

RAO "UES of Russia" has positive experience in cooperation with some regional governments in implementing key investment projects in the electricity sector. To date, RAO "UES of Russia" has signed similar agreements with 12 administrations of the regions experiencing energy shortages during the so-called "peak load periods". Another 17 agreements are expected to be concluded before the end of the year. Specifically, in the North-West Federal Okrug, on 27 July 2006, such agreement was signed with the Saint Petersburg City Government and on 9 June 2007, with the Government of the Leningrad Region. In 2007, RAO "UES of Russia" plans to sign similar agreements with the authorities of the Komi Republic, the Vologda Region, and Murmansk Region.

The meetings in the Federal Okrugs are intended to promote cooperation between the energy companies and the regional authorities in developing and ensuring stable operation of the electricity system in the face of rapid increase in power consumption in Russia.

According to the Forecast of the Russian Federation Government, it will continue to grow by an average 4.6-6%. According to this forecast, electricity demand in the regions of the North-West Federal Okrug is expected to grow at a rate higher than Russia's average consumption growth rate, between 6% and 6.4%.

This is explained by the rapid development of the economy and social infrastructure in Saint Petersburg, the Leningrad Region, Pskov Region, Vologda Region, Murmansk Region, and Kaliningrad Region. In order to meet the growing demand for electricity in these regions, it is necessary to modernize the entire electricity infrastructure of the Okrug.

Under the Master Plan for the Location of Energy Facilities, the installed capacity of the regional energy systems is to be doubled, with over 17,000 MW of generation capacity to be brought on line by 2020 at the hydro, thermal and nuclear power plants in the North-West Federal District, including over 5,100 MW of capacity to be created by 2010 under the RAO UES Investment Programme. The total amount of investments in the power generation sector to be made in the area over the next five years will make RUB137.5 billion.

It is planned that in 2007-2008 the construction works at the Khemyakoski HPP, Niva HPP, Volkhovskaya HPP-6, Svetogorskaya HPP-11, CHPP-7, CHPP-15, and the Tsentralnaya CHPP. The total capacity to be put into operation will be 182 MW.

In 2009-2010, the energy companies will complete the construction of a 800 MW combined-cycle unit at the Kirishskaya TPP, a 450 MW unit at the Severo-Zapadnaya CHPP, CHPP-22, a 320 MW unit at CHPP-5, and a 200 MW unit at CHPP-7. New units with an aggregate capacity of 650 MW will be put into operation at the Tsentralnaya CHPP and Pervomayskaya CHPP in Saint Petersburg. It is planned to build a new 330 MW unit using the advanced circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler technology at the Cherepovetskaya TPP. Another 225 MW coal station will be built in Syktyvkar under the Guaranteed Investment Mechanism. During this period, TGC-1 will put into operation new units with an aggregate capacity of over 200 MW at the small-scale HPPs. In 2009-2010, the total capacity to be put into operation will make over 4,100 MW.

In 2011, the capacity of the power units in the Okrug by 800 MW due to the construction of a 400 MW combined-cycle power unit at CHPP-21, a 330 MW coal fired CFB unit at the Pskovskaya TPP, and new hydropower units at the Lesogorskaya HPP, Nizhnesvirskaya HPP and Volkhovskaya HPP.

As concerns the development of trunk grid facilities in the North-West Federal Okrug, under the FGC Investment Programme until 2011 400 km of high-voltage lines and 7.1,000 MVA of transformer capacity will come on line. The amount of investments which will be spent on these projects is estimated at RUB80 billion.

Among the key projects is the construction of 330 kV transmission lines "Gatchnia – Luga", "Kolskaya NPP– Knyazhegubskaya HPP" with a 330 kV "Luga" substation , and "Rzevskaya" substation, and "Vasileostrovskaya" substation.