OREANDA-NEWS. On 26 March 2009 was announced, that in Khabarovsk, in the Far Eastern State Scientific library, has started it work the first unique book and illustrative exhibition, which is narrating about the history of making and development of electric energy sector in the Far East. It opened a wide cycle of exhibitions, devoted to the most important branches of regional economy.

For presentation there were invited the management of one of the largest Russian energy companies – JSC “Far Eastern Generating Company” (JSC “FEGC”)* and comprising it Khabarovskaya CHPP-1, Khabarovskaya CHPP-2, Khabarovskaya CHPP-3, veterans of Khabarovsk energy system. They are not only sharing their recollections about making the energy sector in the Far East and plans of its further development, but with great interest familiarizing with unknown them earlier historic facts.

Thus, at the early years of development of energy sector in Khabarovsk, in 1916, the electric power was worth its weight in gold. Its cost was 40 kopecks per kilowatt hour. For comparison, the cow was possible to purchase that times for 1 Rouble. Today a price for a cow could reach up to one hundred thousand Roubles, but the electric power rate for the far easterners in 2009 is average slightly above two Roubles. Its of interest, that the salary of the energy employees that times was two-three thousand Roubles a year. Though, the specialists, who could understand anything in electricity, were few of them.

In the “Report of General Partnership for lighting of Khabarovsk city with electricity for the tenth year of operation” (years 1916-1917) the participants of the presentation have drawn on a lot of interesting facts about the energy sector of early last century. For example, in spite of the fact that benefits of electricity were the destiny of the elects, but already that times there was the problem of payment for electricity by the clients. In the Report of the Partnership was stated: “the bad debts – 87 Roubles”.

What seven-league steps raised the demands of the far easterners in electric power and what way developed local energy sector we could judge by figures. The first power station, which started its operation in Khabarovsk in 1906, had capacity of only 120 kilowatts. This was enough for lighting short central street of the city and giving electricity to a dozen of buildings, located there. In Vladivostok, a little later, had appeared the first real power station with capacity of 1,350 kilowatts. By the way, it is still in operation, but as a boiler shop: it is Vladivostokskaya CHPP-1.

In half century later, in the early sixties, in krais and oblasts of the Far East are counted already 5,492 power stations. All of them were mostly departmental, little capacity (only three largest ones were around hundred megawatts), with total installed capacity 1,7 gigawatts.

Nowadays, in another half century, in the territory of the south of the Far East (in Amurskaya and Jewish Autonomous oblasts, Khabarovsky and Primorsky krais, in the south of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are operating 15 thermal power stations and 5 large boiler shops, comprising the JSC “Far Eastern Generating Company”. Any of them is several times larger than any large predecessors. Their total installed capacity is 5,85 gigawatts. All together they are providing with heat and light to one tenth part of Russia, population and enterprises.

The exhibition, which will last in the Far Eastern scientific library up to mid March, will allow not only to feel the link of times, but understand on what foundation was constructed the big energy sector, what lessons from the past might be useful today and in future, and not only the professional energy employees, but to students of subject HEEs, general public.

We have to note that either energy employees or employees of scientific library have come to the agreement that later this exhibition will “step out to the public”: it will be exposed at the energy enterprises of JSC “FEGC”. Besides it, the copies of its exhibits will be the valuable help in establishing of the energy sector museum, which is under establishing now in JSC “Far Eastern Generating Company”.