Chubais: Bureiskaya hydro-electric power plant to provide reliable energy supply to far east

The Bureiskaya hydro-electric power plant that was put into operation on Monday will provide reliable energy supply to the Far Eastern region, thus reducing its power industry's dependence on coal and black oil fuel imported from other regions, Chairman of the Board of the RAO Unified Energy Systems of Russia Anatoly Chubais announced to journalists. The tariff the Russian Federal Energy Commission has set for the new power plant allows the regional energy commissions of the Far Eastern federal district to reduce electricity tariffs for population already from July 1st, he emphasized. Thus, in the Amur region, the Khabarovsk territory and the Jewish autonomous region tariffs for population can be cut by 7-8 per cent, in the Maritime territory by 9-10 per cent. On the total the population of these regions may save up to 144 million roubles in the second half of 2003. At present the Far Eastern energy system depends 40 per cent on imported coal. This significantly impairs the energy system and leads to a rise in electricity tariffs, Chubais recalled. At present they are the highest in Russia.