OREANDA-NEWS. JSC RusHydro (ticker symbol: MOEX, LSE: HYDR; OTCQX: RSHYY) announces that RAO ES of East (part of RusHydro Group) received technical conditions for construction of a rail link between the existing rail road and the construction site of the Sakhalinskaya thermal power plant (TPP) No.2.

The Sakhalinskaya TPP No.2 is one of four new construction projects in the Far East included in the investment program of RusHydro. The Company's investment program also includes construction of heat and power plant in Sovetskaya Gavan' (Khabarovsk region), the Yakutskaya power plant No.2 (the 1st stage) and the Blagoveschenskaya power plant No.2 (the 2nd stage).

The design project of the Sakhalinskaya TPP No.2 is now being finalized. It is planned to begin construction works in the middle of next year. Commissioning of the first phase is expected in 2016.

The first phase of the plant will consume 450,000 tonnes of locally mined coal per year and by 2020 the coal consumption will grow to reach 1,350,000 tonnes per year.

Construction of the plant will replace the obsolete Sakhalinskaya TPP, improve reliability of heat and electricity supply in the region and increase overall capacity to cater to future growth of consumption, and will also allow to increasing the tonnage of cargo shipped by the railroad.

The first phase of the Sakhalinskaya TPP No.2 will have 110 MW of electricity capacity and 15 Gcal/hour of thermal capacity. Annual electricity output will be 840 GWh.