OREANDA-NEWS. March 22, 2010. On March 2nd, Yoshkar-Ola CHPP-2 - one of the key enterprises in the electric power system of the Republic of Mari El and part of the Generation Urals Division of Integrated Energy Systems - celebrated its 26th birthday. On this day in 1984, a new enterprise - Yoshkar-Ola CHPP-2 - was established pursuant to Decree No. 65 of the Ministry of Energy of the USSR.

Construction of the new co-generation plant in the Republic's capital was vitally important: In 1970s and 1980s, the Republic had no electricity generation facilities and suffered deficiency in heat energy. Putting into operation of this new powerful energy supply source provided the necessary foundation for development of the local industry and new residential construction.

The first object commissioned on site of the future power plant was the hot water boiler No. 1. In 1984 - its full-scale operation commenced in autumn 1984 - this boiler generated over 90,000 GCal of heat energy.

Currently, the reliable and uninterrupted supply of power under any weather conditions and all year to Yoshkar-Ola residents is ensured by operation of two power-generating boilers and two turbine generator sets of the power plant's main equipment. The hot water boilers (there are three boilers at the Heat and Power Plant) are switched on in exceptional cases only - in order to compensate peak heating loads in case of emergencies or steep outdoor air temperature drops.

From the moment of putting into operation of CHPP-2, it generated over 17.9 million GCal of heat energy. From the moment of connection of the first power generating unit to the national power grid in 1994, Heat and Power Plant 2, has generated over 12.9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Today, Yoshkar-Ola CHPP-2 features installed electric power of 195 MW and installed thermal power of 660 GCal/h and is the only major power generating source in the Republic's capital which satisfies around one half of the Republic's electric power needs and around 40% of heat power needs of Yoshkar-Ola consumers. The Power Plant's thermal power capacity is largely underutilized at present. The reason is the availability of other power facilities in the city that render heat supply services to the local consumers. In summer, the power plant satisfies almost 100% of the hot water needs of the capital of Mari El Republic.