Some of Far East energy shortage can be covered by extending equipment life - System Operator
VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 4 (Interfax) - The energy shortage in the Far East can be covered to some extent by extending the service life of some of the equipment or by designating officials responsible for the construction of new generation, System Operator chief Fyodor Opadchy told journalists on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.
"There are a few options. There are grounds for designating officials, there are proposals to extend the service life of some equipment. We are still waiting for a nuclear power plant to emerge, and until it does, some of the problems can be solved by extending service life," Opadchy said.
Power companies that will undertake the construction of new generation capacity in the Far East, following the failed competitive selection, may be chosen manually, Deputy Energy Minister Yevgeny Grabchak said earlier.
"The competition did not take place, but the deficit remains," Grabchak said at the end of August.
The Energy Ministry is interested in a decision being made as soon as possible, he said. There is also the option of placing 25 MW turbines with a high degree of localization in the region, he said.
Earlier in August, the System Operator reported on the failed competition for the construction of new generation capacity in Khabarovsk Territory and Primorye. No applications were submitted for the selection.
Since January 1, 2025, the Far East has been part of the energy market's second pricing zone (previously, it included only Siberia), which allows for competitive selection of projects for constructing and modernizing energy capacity in the region, with payment made in part through energy market charges. At the end of April 2025, the Russian government approved the selection of projects for the construction of thermal generation for Primorye and Khabarovsk with a total capacity of 445 MW.
System Operator's Opadchy said in June that a selection for new generation capacity for Primorye and Khabarovsk Territory needs to be conducted quickly. "There is an urgent problem to solve there," he said.
The situation in the Far East is not the first time that power companies have not participated in announced selections for the construction of new generation capacity. Previously, by decision of the government commission on the electric power industry, entities were appointed responsible for the construction of energy capacity in southern Russia manually.
