OREANDA-NEWS. August 3, 2010. At RusHydro's (ticker symbol: HYDR, MICEX, RTS and LSE) Neporozhniy Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP hydro-unit No. 4 with a 640 MW capacity has been connected to the grid under load. The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin gave a command to launch the hydro-unit under load during today's video-conference Moscow - The Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. The Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Igor Sechin made sure, that the hydro-unit No. 4 was ready for launching and pushed the symbolic button.

The ceremony was also attended by the Russian Federation Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko,   the Chairman of the Management Board of JSC RusHydro Evgeny Dod, as well as by regional officials and representatives of numerous Russian governmental agencies. Representatives of design and construction organizations, scientific institutes and equipment-producing suppliers also participated in the event.

After the launch Igor Sechin held a regular meeting of Government Committee on Restoration of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. According to the report of Evgeny Dod, the Chairman of the Management Board of JSC RusHydro, all the decisions concerning the restoration process will meet new technical requirements and standards, set by governmental supervisory authorities for hydro-power plants security operation.

Evgeniy Dod has also outlined that all the works on restoration process were fully in line with the previously approved schedule.

The launch of hydro-units No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 means the introduction of 1,920 MW of capacity, effectively minimizing flooding risks and guaranteeing water supply to people and industrial and social objects located in the HPP's lower reaches.

Before the launch, diagnostic work was performed on the engineering structures and facilities of the hydro-unit. Specialists of the B.E.Vedeneev VNIIG research institute monitored the spiral case, drafting tubes and other construction elements. The inner metal coverings and the reinforced concrete encasement of the water pipe-line were also inspected. Results of the completed examination confirm the working capacity of the reinforced concrete constructions of hydro-unit No. 4. Within the 2010 - 2014 period, all water pipe-lines at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP will be examined as part of a special program.

The launch of hydro-unit No. 4 into the grid under load was preceded by the start up and adjustment operations in all working regimes, including switching to the grid. This program was coordinated with the turbines and equipment manufacturer JSC Power Machines. JSC Lengidroproekt, the general designer, confirmed that the equipment, all the technological systems and constructions for hydro-unit No. 4 and the T2 transformer unit for the start-up complex meet the standards of technical design specifications.

By the end of 2010 hydro-unit No. 3 will be also launched under load, following the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP's installed capacity reaches 2,560 MW. This will enable HPP to operate during 2010-2011 fall-winter period without usage of operational spillway.

Full restoration of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is scheduled to be completed in 2014.