OREANDA-NEWS. August 02, 2010. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged officials to ensure a prompt and complete restoration of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station. He added that the members of the power station staff involved in relief and clean-up work were awarded Certificates of Honour.

The prime minister issued approval to restart the 640 MW fourth power unit at the station, which was halted after the August 2009 accident.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr Putin emphasised that the planned Boguchanskaya power station should begin work on schedule, and he urged the investors of the project, RusHydro and RUSAL, to commission the first three hydroelectric power units in 2011 and the remaining units in 2013. "We must not lessen our concentration on ensuring Siberia has a reliable power supply until the Sayano-Shushenskaya power station has been reconstructed and Boguchanskaya has been built," the prime minister said.

He also reminded government officials that the preparation of energy facilities for autumn and winter should be closely monitored.

Mr Putin also mentioned the recent terrorist attack on the Baksanskaya hydropower station in the Caucasus and instructed the relevant agencies to ensure that effective security measures are put in place to protect the energy supply infrastructure in the country.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's opening remarks:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Let me first welcome you all and, first of all, those of you who are currently at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station.

Almost a year has passed since the accident that took place at this hydropower station on August 17. The accident resulted from a confluence of circumstances, but not from that alone. It also resulted from serious mistakes, which led to grave consequences, including fatalities.

Today let us talk about the status of the repair works. But before we begin, I would like to say that despite the grave consequences of the accident, we managed to avoid the worst-case scenario. And this was due to the station's employees and specialists from the Emergencies Ministry acting professionally, bravely and decisively.

I have recently signed an executive order to award a group of employees at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station, to whom we largely owe the fact that the station was saved, with Russian Government Certificates of Honour. Today I would like to thank them all once again for their courage and professionalism.

Today we are commissioning another hydroelectric power unit, the third one in this series, which will help increase the station's output to 1,920 MW. The fifth and sixth are operational and we are commissioning the fourth hydroelectric power unit today. Another hydroelectric power unit, unit number three, is to become operational by the end of this year.

In addition, we have adopted amendments to the 2010 federal budget, according to which we will set aside 500 million roubles for rebuilding the road between Sayanogorsk and the village of Cheryomushki. Rebuilding this road will enable the delivery of large and heavy pieces of machinery for the restoration of the station's worst-hit units.

Today I would like to hear how work on the restoration of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station is going, whether there are any unresolved issues and what these issues are, if indeed there are any.

I would also like to hear detailed reports on the progress of work to manufacture new hydroelectric power units and the construction of the shore spillway, the first stage of which, as you know, we have already completed. We will also touch upon social issues.

There is another issue, which is not connected with the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station. We are working at full tilt on the construction of another major hydropower station, the Boguchanskaya hydropower station.

Located in Siberia, this is currently the biggest electric power facility, with a capacity of 3,000 MW. It is part of the region's Development Strategy. We have very recently decided to provide a 28.1 billion rouble loan from Vnesheconombank towards the completion of construction work on this hydropower station. The loan will total 50 billion roubles, 21.9 billion roubles of which will be set aside for the aluminium smelter. Launching this power station will not only solve Siberia's energy supply problem, but will stimulate the social and economic development of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in particular creating conditions for the exploration of the region's natural resources.

I ask that the project's investors, RusHydro and RUSAL, launch the station to schedule, including launching the first stage of the three hydroelectric power units in 2011, and that they complete the launch by 2013.

For this, the investors must create an effective project management system, implement in full their liabilities concerning the construction of the power station itself and of the associated aluminium smelter. I ask the Krasnoyarsk Territory government, I hope they will hear me, to work with energy consumers on guaranteeing the supply of electricity produced by the Boguchanskaya hydropower station.

And finally. We must not lessen our concentration on ensuring Siberia has a reliable power supply until the Sayano-Shushenskaya power station has been reconstructed and Boguchanskaya has been built.

The situation demands that officials display the very highest professionalism, good organisation and responsibility. It is vital that the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station is repaired fully, in a timely fashion, and that it can provide the necessary power exchange for electricity from other regions whatever the weather, as we made sure it did last winter. Last winter, I would like to repeat, we managed to do this. I hope that today we will be responsible in our approach to the problems that we will face this winter.

Let's get to work. I would like to hear from Mr Igor Sechin. Mr Sechin, please go ahead.

Igor Sechin: Mr Putin. Two units have been launched under the plan to restore the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station that you approved, as you have already said. And today, after a 72-hour test, we are ready to launch the fourth generating unit, which will add 640 MW to the station's capacity.

The test results show that the unit's vibration indicators are several times lower than the norm. Temperature and other indicators are within the norm.

Mr Putin, everything is ready for the launch. Would you like us to launch the unit?

Vladimir Putin: Start the launch...

How is it going?

Igor Sechin: Mr Putin, the unit is switched on; it is generating power.

Vladimir Putin: I congratulate you. Thank you. Congratulations!

Let's discuss those issues that have not yet been resolved and that we are now facing. How are the government orders concerning the station's reconstruction being implemented?

Igor Sechin: Turning to the government orders and your own orders. There were 120 of them, 95 of which have been implemented and 25 of which are being implemented now. No orders have been delayed or defaulted on in their implementation.

The station's reconstruction is proceeding to schedule.

In the period 2011-2013 we will install and launch six new hydroelectric power units. This is being carried out by the company Power Machines. Mr Putin, you visited this company recently, and its general director and chief designer are here now. A team of engineers from Power Machines are working on the station round the clock. We will replace the temporarily isolated hydroelectric power units (these are the third, fourth, fifth and sixth units) with new ones. The station will be completely restored by 2014.