OREANDA-NEWS. On May 27, 2008 press-conference of Timur Gamzatov, Director of Dagestan Branch of JSC “RusHydro”, was held in the main office in Makhachkala; it was dedicated to the Report on the results of the first quarter of 2008. Journalists from the state and local newspapers and magazines, representatives of the state television and radio stations, reporters of the Russian Information Agency “News” and “Dagestan” Information Bureau showed a big interest in the event, reported the press-centre of RusHydro.

Timur Gamzatov informed the journalists that the last year and the beginning of 2008 were characterized by completion of the reform of the hydropower sector of economics, reorganization JSC “Regional Power Generation Company of Dagestan” and merging with the Federal hydrogenation company.

The Director explained that the reform didn’t affect the company’s activities: “In 2007 JSC “RusHydro” approved the Development strategy, defining the company’s priorities. We continue to organize our work in accordance with the principals set by the document, such as safe and reliable exploitation of existing hydropower facilities, development and realization of the investment projects of new hydropower objects, completion of the existing construction works at the new facilities. JSC “RusHydro” has a well functioning structure to provide corresponding activities and we cooperate very effectively in each of the three directions. All goals, which were set for us by the management of RAO “UES of Russia” and JSC “RusHydro”, are achieved”.

Then Timur Gamzatov briefly shared on the results of the production and business activities of the company for the first three months of the current year, and invited the journalists to ask their questions.

Correspondents wondered about the affect of the reorganization on the shareholders’ interests, on the amount of the company’s taxes paid into the state and local budgets, on the company’s charity activity.

Timur Gamzatov has emphasized that in the reorganization process shareholders of JSC “Regional Power Generation Company of Dagestan” didn’t lose anything, since they “automatically” became stock owners of JSC “RusHydro” - one of the largest hydrogenation companies in the world. In January of this year re-evaluation of Dagestan Branch’s basic assets was completed; it resulted in the increase of the amount paid as a tax into the state and local budgets (only for the first quarter of this year Dagestan Branch paid 100.6 million rubles to our Dagestan State budget and 5.7 million rubles to the municipal budget of Makhachkala city).

Timur Gamzatov guaranteed the journalists that the charity activities of Dagestan Branch would not lessen after the reorganization. The charity program for the year of 2008 has been approved with a budget of more than 12 million rubles.

The journalist also touched the issues of the new stations construction and technical modernization of already existing hydropower objects. Timur Gamzatov answered that hydropower industry of Dagestan is a rapidly developing sector of economics: new hydropower capacities are being put into service; existing hydropower facilities are being technically updated and re-equipped; new automatic control systems are being installed. Dagestan Branch spent more than 145 million rubles on renovation in the first quarter of 2008.

Timur Gamzatov gave competent and exhaustive answers to all the questions the journalists asked and assured the correspondents that Dagestan hydropower industry is successfully developing its capacities to meet increasing needs of Dagestan in the electric power.