Nikolay Shulginov: “97% of the companies in the electrical power complex of the Russian Federation have received certificates of readiness for the open-label preparation”
“Preparation for the heating season this year took place against the backdrop of increasing energy consumption and loads on power grids and generating equipment during the passage of summer peaks in power consumption,” said Nikolai Shulginov, opening the All-Russian meeting “On the progress of preparation of power industry entities and housing and communal services facilities for the heating season 2023-2024."
Since the beginning of the year, electricity consumption in the power system has increased by 1.2%, the Minister noted; it is predicted that during the heating season, consumption will increase by 1.8% compared to the 2022-2023 winter season.
According to Nikolai Shulginov, currently all energy facilities are provided with the necessary fuel reserves; underground gas storage facilities have been filled to meet the estimated needs, hydro resources have been accumulated in sufficient quantities, and planned supplies of energy resources within the framework of the Northern Delivery have been completed.
Repair plans for the current year, taking into account the volume of technical re-equipment and reconstruction, have been maintained at the volumes of 2022. The necessary stock of equipment, spare parts and components has been formed in case of emergency situations, the Minister added.
97% of electric power industry entities received certificates of readiness for industrial safety measures. At the same time, Nikolai Shulginov said, “when assessing readiness, we see evidence of inconsistency between the industry reporting submitted by individual companies and the actual state of affairs.” In this regard, a decision was made, together with Rostechnadzor and the Prosecutor’s Office, to conduct on-site inspections of 71 electric power facilities, the head of the Ministry of Energy said. Based on the results, he added, a final assessment of the situation of the real readiness of energy companies for winter will be given. The Minister did not rule out the revocation of readiness certificates with the notification of the Prosecutor's Office regarding the facts of a decrease in the reliability of energy supply to consumers.
As Nikolay Shulginov stated, the department’s special control during the implementation of the open-ended inspection will remain ensuring the reliable and safe operation of power facilities in the Far East, Chukotka, Southeast Siberia, the North Caucasus, primarily Dagestan. According to the Minister, the measures taken in Dagestan to prepare for the winter protection period and to implement the reliability improvement program are not enough. He added that actions by the republican authorities are needed to consolidate networks, the problem of ownerless power grids, increase the level of payments and combat illegal connections.
According to the Minister, the operation of electric grid and generating equipment in the power system of the South of Russia also requires special attention. Consumption here is actively growing, it is predicted that in this autumn-winter period the growth will be 5.5%, explained Nikolai Shulginov. Taking into account the operating mode of the power systems of new regions and in order to avoid the need to operate the electrical grid complex in controlled sections of the Kuban and Crimea in parameters close to the maximum, Rostec Group of Companies needs to ensure the fulfillment of obligations to commission the Udarnaya TPP in Taman as soon as possible. The minister also announced active work to create a more reliable power supply scheme for new regions.
Touching upon the issue of non-payments, the Minister noted: in the country as a whole, the total volume of consumer debt in the retail electricity markets as of October 1 amounted to 320.5 billion rubles, including overdue 216.3 billion rubles. Almost 44% of the debt falls on consumers of housing and communal services.