OREANDA-NEWS. November 24, 2010. A meeting at the Energy Ministry’s Situation Analysis Center has resulted in an agreement to increase coal haulage from the Ekibastuz basin in Kazakhstan to power plants in Siberia and the Urals by 50%.

With Russian Railways (RZD) and Kazakh Railways (KTZ) experiencing a shortage of rolling stock, Freight One has decided to put an additional train on the Ekibastuz route beginning next month. Starting from the next month, the company will increase its haulage of Ekibastuz coal to power plants under the current contract to 428,000 metric tons. The company hauled 268,000 metric tons of coal from Kazakhstan’s largest coal basin in October and plans to haul about 290,000 in November. Most of it goes to the Reftinsk GRES (district power station), the Nizhneturyinsk GRES and the Krasnogorsk TETs (cogeneration plant).

In addition, in December the company plans to begin hauling 250,000 metric tons of Ekibastuz coal a month under a contract with Inter RAO UES to Omsk TETs No. 5 and the Verkhnetagilsk GRES.

Ekibastuz coal has been used at several power plants in the Urals and Siberia as the prescribed fuel since Soviet times. The Reftinsk GRES uses it, as do the Troitsk GRES, Verkhnetagilsk GRES, Serov GRES, Krasnogorsk TETs, Nizhneturinsk GRES, and Omsk TETs Nos. 4 & 5.