Energy Ministry orders all HPP to be checked for flood preparedness after Karelia incident
MOSCOW. Aug 10. (Interfax) - The Russian Energy Ministry has ordered that all Russian hydro-electric power plants (HPP) be checked for readiness to handle flood situations caused by weather events after the Matkozhnensk HPP was powered down when a damn broke in Karelia in the middle of the night on August 9.
The ministry sent a telegram containing this instruction to energy companies that operate HPPs.
Due to heavy rainfall, a dam on the Matkozhnensk Stream was destroyed in Karelia, resulting in floods in the turbine room at the Matkozhnensk HPP, which is operated by TGK-1 . The HPP's on-duty shift enabled the local alarm system and shut off the HPP's units.
On Thursday evening, specialists at the HPP finished cleaning up the technological facilities and started assessing equipment defects.
The Emergency Situations Ministry has said that it will take three days to resume work at the HPP. As a result of the hydraulic units having been powered down, the town of Sosnovets has been left without electricity.
The Matkozhnensk HPP, which is part of the Vygskikh HPP cascade in Karelia, was commissioned on January 1, 1953. Its installed capacity is 63 MW, and its average annual power generation is 381.1 million kWh.
The operator's liability for a hazardous object (the Matkozhnensk HPP) was insured by SOGAZ .