Energy workers ask for a new investigation into the accident at SShHPP

More than 2 thousand power engineers and residents of the village of Cheryomushki signed an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which they insist on conducting a re-examination of the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. In their opinion, at the trial now taking place in Khakassia, erroneous conclusions were made about the causes of the man-made disaster, which is why it could happen again. The victims are convinced that the letter is an attempt to put pressure on the court before passing a verdict.

An appeal to Vladimir Putin about the need to continue the investigation and conduct a new examination in the case of the accident at the SSHPP was sent to the administration of the head of state last Monday. Its authors claim that the commission's conclusions, on which the prosecution is based, are erroneous and not supported by sufficient evidence. In particular, the appeal states that specialized specialists were not involved in the study of what happened. As a result, “during the court hearings, the incompetence of the experts and contradictions in the conclusions they drew up were revealed.” In this regard, the signatories of the letter insist “on the need, in the interests of society, to continue the investigation into the causes of the accident with the involvement of specialized organizations and the scientific community.”

The appeal to the Russian President was signed by 2,045 residents of the Cheryomushki energy workers’ village and SSHHPP specialists.

Let us remind you that the former leaders of the SSHHPP are charged with Part 3 of Art. 216 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of safety rules during work, resulting in the death of more than two persons and causing major damage”). According to the conclusions of the investigation, the accident was the result of the fact that the accused “negligently allowed hydraulic unit No. 2 to operate in an unsatisfactory vibration state for a long time.” As a result, on October 17, 2009, the turbine cover came off and the station was destroyed, killing 75 people.

During the trial, the defendants expressed a different version of the causes of the accident. In their opinion, what happened was due to the imperfection and poor quality of equipment at the SShHPP (unit No. 2 was supplied and installed by the Leningrad Metal Plant in 1979) and the shortcomings of the design solutions applied to it. The accident, therefore, the defendants are convinced, is the result of an “unpredictable combination of circumstances.”

RusHydro confirmed that they are aware of the appeal of the residents of Cheryomushki and some of the SSHHPP employees to the president. “RusHydro made very serious conclusions immediately after the accident on August 17. More than a hundred additions have been added to the rules defining the requirements for the reliability and safety of hydropower facilities. The restoration of the SSHHPP was carried out taking into account these requirements,” the company explained.

Representatives of the injured party consider the letter “an attempt to put pressure on the court,” which on December 23 is scheduled to begin announcing the verdict in the case of the accident at the SSHPP. “The relatives of the victims and the injured have already contacted me. They claim that the signature collectors misled them about the purpose of the letter without explaining its contents,” Galina Romanovskaya, a representative of the victims in court, told Kommersant. According to her, a telegram has already been sent to Vladimir Putin, in which the victims ask the head of state to “stop the defendants’ attempts to put pressure on the court.”

Dmitry Malkov, Krasnoyarsk

The President is connected to the station