OREANDA-NEWS. Fortum has commissioned unit 2 of its Chelyabinsk GRES combined heat and power plant in Russia. The unit's certified power generation capacity is 247.5 megawatts (MW) and heat capacity approximately 174 MW. Fortum will start to receive capacity payments under the Russian state-backed Capacity Supply Agreements (CSA) for the unit as of 1 March 2016 in addition to revenues from electricity sales to the wholesale market. Chelyabinsk GRES unit 1 has been in commercial operation since 1 December 2015.

"With the investment programme now complete, Fortum has nearly doubled its production capacity in Russia. We are ensuring reliable supply to customers with modern and energy-efficient equipment in one of the most industrially developed areas of the country. In addition, the return on invested capital for new capacity is covered under the CSA," says Pekka Lundmark, Fortum's President and CEO.

The commissioning of Chelyabinsk GRES 2 finalises the extensive investment programme Fortum launched in Russia in 2008. Under the programme, Fortum constructed eight gas-fired units with a combined capacity of over 2 gigawatts in the Chelyabinsk and Tyumen regions. The new units utilise highly modern and energy-efficient technology and have significantly reduced specific emissions of power generation in Russia.

The new units are fully CSA-backed. Prices for capacity under CSA are defined in order to ensure a sufficient return on investments. As announced in the Fortum's financial statements bulletin for 2015, published on 3 February 2016, the company targets an RUB 18.2 billion operating profit (EBIT) level in the Russia segment during 2017-2018. The euro-denominated result level will be volatile due to the translation effect.