OREANDA-NEWS. April 21, 2010. OGK-6 (RTS: OGKF) ramped up electricity generation 25.9% y-o-y to 9.5 bn kilowatt-hours in 1Q2010. Electricity generation grew the most at the Kirishi State District Power Plant (GRES, up 69.6%) and the Krasnoyarsk GRES-2 (up 31.2%). The steep rise in electricity generation at the Kirishi GRES is linked to the shutdown of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant as of 2010, and the sharp rise in electricity output from the Krasnoyarsk GRES-2 is attributed to the phased-out capacity at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP and a prolonged spell of cold weather in Siberia.

The phased-out capacity at the Ignalina nuclear plant and Shushenskaya GPP is scheduled to take several years to replace and during this time, OGK-6 will see the increased load on its generation capacity, enabling it to boost electricity generation, which should benefit the company in view of current favorable price trends on the electricity market. For instance, in the first price zone, where Kirishi GRES operates, electricity prices leapt by over 60% in 1Q2010, which could spell significant revenue growth for OGK-6 plants. However, the genco may have to put up with insignificant margins on sales of additionally generated electricity, due to the low fuel efficiency of its power plants.