OREANDA-NEWS. March 19, 2008. Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" Anatoly Chubais and Kemerovo Region Governor Aman Tuleyev have signed a Cooperation Agreement designed to develop the Tomsk Region's energy system and ensure reliable power supply to customers. The Agreement will remain in effect until 2013.

According to social and economic development forecasts, electricity consumption will grow 1.23-1.41-fold by 2015 to 44 billion kWh (minimum growth scenario) or 50.2 billion kWh (maximum growth scenario for the region's development) from 35.6 billion kWh in 2007.

In the next few years, electricity consumption will grow most rapidly in the Anjero-Sudjensky, Kemerovsky, Prokopyevsky, and Novokuznetsky energy areas. According to the forecast, coal industry, ferrous metal industries, machine building and metal working industries will develop most rapidly. These power-intensive projects will be the key drivers behind the growing demand for additional power generation and transmission capacity.

To meet the energy needs and ensure reliable electricity supply to customers, it is planned to significantly increase the installed capacity of the Kemerovo Region's power plants. To meet these targets, OAO "Kuzbassenergo" (TGC-12) will bring on line a new power 660 MW unit at the Tom-Usinskaya TPP and a 120 MW turbine unit at the Novo-Kemerovskaya CHPP. The company will also modernize more than 330 MW of its existing capacity. Over 2,340 MW of generation capacity is planned to be built with private investors' funds.

The Agreement provides for the construction and modernization of the region's power grid infrastructure. In the region's bulk transmission grids sector, it is planned that 742 km of transmission lines will be put into operation. As a result of the new construction of high-voltage substations their capacity will grow by 2,582 MVA. Among the major projects to be implemented is the construction of the 550 kV "Kuzbasskaya" substation with 500 kV and 220 kV lines and the 220 kV "Olzherasskaya" substation with 220 kV lines. Grid substations with a capacity of 4,827 MVA are to be modernized.

In the region's distribution system, there are plans to bring on line and modernize more than 348 km of transmission lines and 1,017 MVA of transformer capacity.

Under the Agreement, the total amount of funds to be spent on the projects in the Kemerovo Region will be in excess of RUB127.6 billion, of which over RUB95 billion and RUB32.5 billion will be invested in the power generation sector and grid infrastructure, respectively.