New Kaliningrad Heat and Power Plant to Open in 2005

Anatoly Kopsov, the deputy chairman of Russian state energy giant UES of Russia is satisfied with the pace of construction work on Kaliningrad's second heat and power plant. He made this announcement yesterday at a meeting of the construction project's management.

According to Kopsov, Belenergostroi, the main contractor, has carried out the required amount of work, although in certain areas it is necessary to increase the work speed due to the short time left before the first part of the power station is to come into use, in October 2005. This year UES of Russia is allocating 2.25 billion roubles (USD 71.5 million) to the construction project, and the federal budget a further 200 million roubles (USD 6.4 million).

Nevertheless, the deputy chairman shares the Kaliningrad regional administration's concern over the fact that Gazprom has still not begun repair work on a gas pipeline through Lithuania which is to increase natural gas supplies to the region. This question is in the government's jurisdiction, so Kopsov is sure that it will be resolved. 'The issue is so important, both psychologically and politically, that Gazprom has to meet its responsibilities,' he stressed.

The power plant being built is only the second in Russia to use new gas turbine technology. This will allow the efficiency coefficient to be raised to 51%, compared to only 38% in traditional electricity generating plants. The new technology will give high fuel economy and allow the number of operating staff to be reduced.