OREANDA-NEWS. November 26, 2012. JSC RusHydro (ticker symbol: MICEX-RTS, LSE: HYDR; OTCQX: RSHYY) announces that the Company's Board of Directors held a meeting in absentia.

The Board of Directors approved the establishment of a unified O&M (operations and maintenance) company through reorganization of RusHydro’s subsidiaries – JSC "Turboremont-VKK", JSC "Elektroremont-VKK", JSC "REMIK", JSC "SSHPR" – and their merger with another 100% subsidiary JSC "Hydroremont-VKK".

The establishment of RusHydro’s single O&M company is aimed at strengthening of engineering competency within RusHydro group, O&M cost optimization and improvement of personnel technical skills as RusHydro pursues its ambitious comprehensive modernization program. The implementation of this program requires the improvement of resource base, management system, RusHydro’s and contracting organizations’ expertise that provides for necessity of setting up a joint center of engineering assets control.

The management estimates that the establishment of a unified engineering company will allow saving ca. RUR 700 mn in O&M costs per year.

The comprehensive modernization program was developed in accordance with RusHydro's strategic plan after detailed inspection and reliability assessment of hydrotechnical facilities, equipment and buildings. The program provides for replacement of ca. 50% of turbines, 40% of generators, 60% of transformers, plants auxiliaries and power circuit-breakers for the company’s hydropower fleet. This modernization will result in significant reliability, efficiency and security improvement of RusHydro generating facilities, increase in installed capacity of ca. 1 GW and sustainable growth of electricity generation by 2025.

The Board of Directors made the amendments and additions to the list of non-core assets of RusHydro approved by the Board on February 29, 2012.

These amendments aim to update the data after adjustment of the list of assets.