OREANDA-NEWS. September 15, 2009. Over 100 families, including 75 families of deceased and missing workers as a result of the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP have received assistance from the Social Assistance Centre of JSC RusHydro.

 The Centre was created in the village of Cheryomushki for the purpose of rendering social assistance to the families of the victims of the accident that happened on 17 August, 2009.  The work is being carried out by a group of JSC RusHydro specialists (lawyers, economics, directors of hydro-electric power stations, and specialists of RusHydro subsidiaries, etc.).  Until 28 August, the Centre was working round-the-clock, and since then it has been operating according to regular daily working hours.

For the purpose of co-ordination with social guardianship bodies, staff of the Centre are drawing up a social file on each family, taking into account all the requirements and needs of each family, holding consultations with relatives, providing assistance in gathering together all the requisite documents for receiving allowances, and assistance in finding jobs.  Relatives of the deceased are given priority in filling vacancies at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP and at branches and affiliates of JSC RusHydro on the territory of the Republic of Khakassia.  23 family members of deceased and missing workers have requested assistance from the Centre in finding jobs and, as of 12 September, 7 had been found work and 4 were in the process of being placed. 

Over 200 people have received psychological assistance.  For this purpose, the best specialists capable of offering help for people suffering from acute post-traumatic stress syndrome are being sent to Cheryomushki.  From right after the accident, three psychological assistance centres have been constantly open in Cheryomushki (at the power centre, the social support centre and a separate children’s psychological centre).  Professional psychologists are training local specialists and pedagogues in the specifics of working with the victims and children.  43 pedagogues and 29 psychologists have already undergone training.

As of 14 September, 2009, the following payments have been made and assistance provided to the families of the deceased and missing workers:

Material assistance of 1 (one) million roubles have been received by all the 75 families of the deceased and missing.  The families of missing workers will also be paid compensation without them having to present a death certificate. 

Since the accident, all the families have been paid 38 170 roubles for funeral expenses and material assistance in the amount of 2 average monthly salaries of the deceased (missing) worker or victim.  In accordance with the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement of the JSC RusHydro subsidiary Neporozhniy Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, 28 families have already been paid lump-sum material assistance in the amount of the annual salary of the deceased for each non-able-bodied family member.

Work has been carried out with banks to pay off the credits of 27 deceased workers to an aggregate sum of more than 7.2 million roubles.  Credits of the deceased with the Bank of Khakassia to an aggregate sum of 316 thousand roubles have been redeemed and work is continuing to close credits in Home-Credit Bank.  In all the other banks, the credits are in the process of being redeemed.

JSC RusHydro is allocating additional special material assistance for purchasing housing for all families with underage children and pregnant women.  Four apartments have already been formalised, 1 is in the process, and the question of allocating another 11 from the fund of the Governor of Sayanogorsk is being decided.

JSC RusHydro is concluding an agreement with Non-commercial Pension Fund of the Electric Power Industry for payment of additional pensions to 53 pensioner parents of deceased workers (an additional 1000 roubles each for five years). 

Work has been carried out to transfer students studying in paid sections of higher educational institutions to free ones.  The question is being resolved of paying for the studies of two students in commercial higher educational institutions.  JSC RusHydro has adopted a decision to appoint named stipends for 60 children.  Children entering educational institutions will, in a few years time, receive RusHydro stipends, which will be index-linked.

At the request of the authorities of the town of Sayanogorsk, JSC RusHydro is purchasing to ambulances.  A project is being developed for a skateboarding court in Cheryomushki. 

For the purpose of ensuring objective distribution of the charitable aid, the JSC RusHydro working group has organised interaction with the public and representatives of local and regional authorities.  In the village, a social committee called “Steps to Life” has also been set up, including family members of deceased and missing workers and representatives of JSC RusHydro and the Government of the Republic of Khakassia.  The committee’s task is to support families, implement social initiatives to improve the village and provide assistance in drawing up documents. 

JSC RusHydro ahs also received proposals from the Government of Khakassia for additional social support measures for residents of Cheryomushki as a supplement to the Agreement between the Republic and JSC RusHydro.  In particular, the following may be implemented: in 2009 - 123 million roubles for setting up and equipping a treatment and diagnosis centres in Cheryomushki and a nursing home in Maina;  in 2009-2010 -- 150 million roubles for construction and equipment of City Hospital No. 2 in Sayanogorsk; in 2010 - 100 million roubles for reconstruction of the water supply system in Maina, with alternative water supply sources; in 2009-2010 - 20 million roubles for construction of alternative electricity supply sources for the water supply and removal systems in Cheryomushki.  Considering the significant volume of the financing required, the given proposals have been forwarded for consideration by the Ministry of Power of the Russian Federation.  An application with respect to creating the treatment and diagnosis centre in Cheryomushki has been prepared for submission to the Ministry of health of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for inclusion of the project in the target programme “Reducing the risks and mitigating the consequences of emergency situations of a natural and man-made nature”.