Hotline of power engineering specialists:
25 April 2017, a press conference was held in Kursk at which the results of the companies IDGC of Centre and IDGC of the Centre and Volga Region to operate during the autumn-winter period of 2017-2018 were summed up and plans were made to prepare the two companies for the next season of peak loads in the grid in the winter of 2018 – 2019.
Opening the press conference, Alexander Pilyugin, First Deputy General Director - Chief Engineer of IDGC of Centre, the managing organization of IDGC of Centre and Volga Region, stressed that the past autumn-winter period demanded from the power engineers maximum consolidation of forces, increased efficiency and implementation of a number of additional technical measures.
The weather conditions of the autumn-winter period of 2017-2018 sharply differed from those recorded in the previous similar period. In early February 2018, the branches of Smolenskenergo, Tverenergo, Vladimirenergo, Tulenergo, Kalugaenergo were hit by the cyclone Balkanets. The cyclone that hit the Central District on 3-4 February caused a heavy snowfall and icy rain. For two days in the regions affected by it, the monthly rainfall rate fell. According to weather forecasters, such snowfalls are not more than once in a hundred years. The passage of the cyclone was accompanied by a wind increase of up to 25 m/s, sticking of wet snow, glaze formation on wires (up to 29 mm). Under the weight of the formed ice crust, trees growing outside exclusion zones of power lines began to tilt to wires, causing short circuits, and provoked massive disconnections of consumers.
The complex analysis of the situation and the further developed and implemented technical measures made it possible to prevent the recurrence of the February events in the remaining winter months.
In comparison with the autumn-winter period of the last year, the failure rate in the 6 - 110 kV grid decreased by 18% in IDGC of Centre and 35% in IDGC of Centre and Volga Region. The average duration of power supply interruptions was reduced by 35% for two companies, and amounted to 1.62 hours for IDGC of Centre and 2.22 hours for IDGC of Centre and Volga Region.
Speaking about the nearest plans, Alexander Pilyugin said that currently in the power grid complex of 20 regions of the Central and Volga Federal Districts, preparations for the next autumn-winter period are actively being conducted, while the power engineers took into account the experience gained last winter. The bulk of the planned work will be completed in September this year. The total amount of financing for the repair programs of the two companies for 2018 is 7.599 million rubles. In 2018, in total, the energy companies plan to repair more than 50,000 km of 0.4-110 kV overhead and cable power lines, perform clearing and expansion from tree and shrub vegetation over 32,000 ha of ROWs along Conductors and overhaul 12,000 transformer substations.
