Should be enough

RusHydro expects to spend no more than 40 billion rubles on the restoration of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station

Yesterday, during a press conference dedicated to eliminating the consequences of the disaster at the SSHPP, the head of the department of state energy policy and energy efficiency of the Ministry of Energy, Sergei Mikhailov, announced that the volume of restoration work at the station may be greater than previously expected. “As a result of clearing out the rubble at the third hydraulic unit and the examination, it became clear that a larger amount of work would be required,” noted Mr. Mikhailov. However, he made a reservation that this would not affect the timing of the repairs. He was also supported by the acting chairman of the board of RusHydro, Vasily Zubakin (pictured) , who assured that the total amount of restoration costs would remain at the same level. However, independent experts doubt that the final estimate will be kept unchanged.

As a result of the disaster on August 17, which claimed the lives of 75 people, all ten hydraulic units of the station were damaged, three of them were almost completely destroyed, and the turbine hall was destroyed and flooded. However, next year the management of the hydrogenerator plans to complete a significant part of all work on the restoration of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP after the accident. Thus, in 2010, the fourth, fifth and sixth hydroelectric units should begin to produce energy. Spare parts for the last two, as noted by the head of RusHydro Vasily Zubakin, according to the contract signed on November 6, will be supplied by Power Machines. Let's make a reservation that the contract amount is about 170 billion rubles. In addition, in June next year it is planned to launch, although for now only at idle, a third hydraulic unit, on which, according to the company management, “quite serious damage” was discovered. “The contractor has developed a technology for replacing damaged parts, and a mechanism for implementing this task has been thought out. I hope that in the fourth quarter of 2010 this hydraulic unit can be prepared for idling,” Mr. Zubakin said yesterday.

At the same time, the head of the Department of the Ministry of Energy, Sergei Mikhailov, was forced to state that, in particular, the damage to the third unit turned out to be more significant than expected and the volume of work would increase significantly. However, state energy workers are confident that neither the restoration deadlines will be missed nor the costs planned for it will not be exceeded. “Currently, according to the plan for restoration work at the station, there are no delays on schedule,” stated Mr. Mikhailov. The head of the hydrogenerator also supported his colleague. “In general, for now we remain in the logic that 40 billion rubles. we should have enough for the entire restoration process, even taking into account the newly discovered destruction,” he said, answering a question from Vremya Novostei. However, according to Vasily Zubakin himself, the final figure will be clear only after receiving design estimates for each facility. Thus, the total amount will appear no earlier than the end of the first quarter of next year, when, taking into account the replacement of equipment, the final plan for the phased restoration of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP will be worked out and approved.

According to experts interviewed by Vremya Novostei, when all the necessary expenses are taken into account, the cost of restoring the station will increase sharply. Thus, according to Renaissance Capital analyst Vladimir Sklyar, the planned modernization of the SSHHPP will add a multi-billion dollar addition to the list of expenses. “It is likely that the designated 40 billion rubles will be enough to directly restore the station. But taking into account the increase in hydroelectric power capacity from 6.4 to 7.2 GW, this amount looks clearly underestimated. Depending on the equipment that is selected, the estimate may increase to 60-75 billion rubles,” the expert predicts. Let us recall that earlier RusHydro and Power Machines signed a protocol of intent, according to which ten hydraulic units will be supplied to the station by 2013. According to some reports, the contract amount could be about 27 billion rubles.

However, as Vasily Zubakin told Vremya Novostei, part of the company’s costs can be covered by putting into operation the repaired units. In addition, significant amounts can be saved during the restoration work itself. “We, of course, don’t have time for months-long competitions, but, thank God, there are enough manufacturers on the market. We are conducting competitive negotiations with suppliers - a simplified and accelerated procedure, due to which we can save 20-30% of the cost,” said Mr. Zubakin.

Petr GELTISHCHEV