Kurskenergo summarized the preliminary results of the autumn-winter peak load operation

A press conference of the branch’s management was held in IDGC of Centre — Kurskenergo division, at which the autumn-winter period 2011-2012 operation was summed up and the plans for the current year were identified.

Deputy General Director of IDGC of Centre — Kurskenergo division director Alexander Pilyugin stressed: “Today we can say that the autumn-winter peak load has successfully passed. The power supply of consumers was performed steadily. The emergency situations caused by weather conditions were eliminated in a relatively short term. The supply restoration time was improved for almost an hour as compared to the 2010 indicator”.

Alexander Pilyugin named the successful performance of the branch’s repair program in 2011 as the basis for the stable autumn-winter operation. The timely implementation of all the planned activities allowed to greatly improve the reliability of electricity supply, availability of equipment for use in extreme conditions, and allowed to minimize the magnitude of the cyclone going through the territory of the Kursk region with wet snow and strong gusty winds in late March.

The Company spent 147 million rubles to improve the reliability of the electric grid in the Kursk region in 2011. As part of the repair program specialists of Kurskenergo comprehensively refurbished 22 substations, more than 2,500 km of overhead lines of all voltage levels, repaired 456 10/0.4 kV transformer substations, replaced 4563 poles, 15365 insulators on 0.4 — 110 kV overhead lines and 56.7 km of ground wire.

The implementation of the investment projects also contributed to the successful autumn-winter operation. Among the significant results of the implementation of the investment program Alexander Pilyugin named the commissioning of 320 km of power lines and 110 MVA of transformer capacity in the territory of the Kursk region.

In his turn, Chief Engineer of the branch Alexander Rudnevsky said that a significant emphasis was given to improving the grid infrastructure to increase the reliability of electricity supply. During the year Kurskenergo regularly performed a set of measures to reduce energy losses in the grids, timely diagnostics of power equipment, modern technologies and innovative solutions were used at renovation and new construction of power facilities. Thanks to these measures, the saving from the standard losses for the year exceeded 9 million kWh.

Alexander Pilyugin recalled that the emergency response training of operating personnel played an important role in the stable autumn-winter 2011-2012. During the year, emergency response exercises were held on entering schedules of temporary outages and trainings related to features to prevent accidents at low temperatures. Two joint exercises in preparation for the winter operation were held with General Directorate of Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Kursk region, Kursk TCC, a branch of SO UPS and executive authorities to simulate the interaction in the emergency response at low ambient temperatures.

Attending the press conference, Deputy Chairman of the Regional Committee of Utilities and Energy Nikolay Tretyakov added that in preparation for the autumn-winter operation Kurskenergo performed 163 actions, including the implementation of the plans of comprehensive repair and major overhaul, technical maintenance and routine maintenance of equipment, clearing and expansion of ROWs along conductors, vehicles maintenance, staff training and their provision with safety features.