RusHydro does not see possibility of keeping Artyom, Khabarovsk CHPPs in operation
MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) - Keeping the Artyom and Khabarovsk CHPPs in operation does not seem possible, according to the position expressed by PJSC RusHydro among proposals for the development scheme and program for the electricity industry until 2031, disclosed on the operator's website.
"Keeping the Artyom and Khabarovsk CHPPs with a total capacity of 506 MW in operation does not seem possible," RusHydro said regarding its position.
RusHydro proposed completely excluding the extension of the Khabarovsk CHPP-1's operations after 2027, and for the Artyom CHPP it is ready to consider keeping no more than 200 MW in operation.
Keeping these two plants operational is needed as an option to cover the power deficit in the region, the System Operator said regarding its position, noting that the final decision "must be made by relevant decrees of the Russian government."
A capacity deficit is forecast in the Far East in the coming years. According to the updated draft scheme and program for the development of electric power systems until 2031, in addition to building generation capacity (two selections for generation projects for Primorye and Khabarovsk Territory recently failed; no new ones have been announced yet), it refers to the construction of the Khabarovsk - Komsomolskaya 500 kV power transmission line with the reconstruction of the 500 kV Komsomolskaya substation. "The construction of this 500 kV power line is also a measure necessary to ensure the possibility of decommissioning the Komsomolskaya CHPP-2," the draft scheme said.
According to the updated document, the generation required for the region is 506 MW. At the same time, "to cover the electricity deficit, as well as capacity deficits in the local power district of the Eastern UPS beyond the Crossing of the Amur River Compensation Station, it is advisable to consider extending the service life of the generating equipment of the Artyom CHPP to the maximum possible extent until the construction of guaranteed generation and the first power unit of the Primorye NPP (1,000 MW in 2033), provided for by the decisions of the general scheme," the document said.
The previous version of the scheme referred to extending the operation of not only the Artyom but also the Khabarovsk CHPP.
Among the short-term measures, postponing the continued modernization of the Vladivostok CHPP-2 to the period after 2028 remains, as does the "continued operation of foreign-made generating equipment at the Vostochnaya CHPP and the mini-CHPP on Russky Island."
