Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov is emphatic when speaking to the representatives of Trade Unions.
Photo: Dmitry Lebedev
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Luzhkov to Finish Off Mosenergo
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov lashed out again yesterday at RAO UES and Mosenergo management in the wake of May 25 blackout. Luzhkov pushed forward to the open attack, saying Mosenergo had ruined the investment program and that the funds to replace grid facilities would be provided from reserves of the city. The experts view Luzhkov’s attack as another move to strengthen control over the energy system of Moscow.
Moscow government focused yesterday on the reasons and aftereffects of May 25 blackout. The life time for more than 70 percent of the Moscow electric power substations with the voltage of 220 kW ended long ago, three more substations (500 kW voltage) are loaded to such extent that it would be very hard to repair them, Vsevolod Pleshivtsev, who is in charge of the city's fuel and energy facilities, said Tuesday, predicting another crisis during the fall/winter heating season. To avoid it, Pleshivtsev suggested constructing additional 500-kW substations and creating the second power circle around Moscow with the voltage of 750 kW to use energy produced by Kalininskaya and Smolenskaya nuclear plants.
Having heard the reporter with proper attention, the mayor stepped in with his own views on blackout. According to Luzhkov, the management of RAO UES has been completely neglecting all problems of the power industry’s acceleration. “Each percent of the GDP growth should be accompanied by at least 0.5 percent increase in power energy production. If today’s state of affairs in the power industry survives, we will have no double GDP in Russia by announced dates,” Luzhkov said, never minding that the rates of the GDP growth suffer severe losses even less the power industry.
“As to the generation, Mosenergo's efficiency is 25 percent,” Luzhkov pointed out, adding that RAO UES of Russia has artificially created energy shortage for Mosenergo, forcing it to take energy from other regions via Chagino, at materially higher prices.” “The calls for tariff rate growth are political sabotage,” Luzhkov reiterated his favorite slogan to end an introductory part of the speech.
In the main part, Luzhkov announced that “Mosenergo is falling to pieces” and there is no establishment capable of taking responsibility for the energy supply of the city, except the Moscow authorities, naturally. Moreover, Luzhkov is ready to allocate funds from the reserve fund to replace grid facilities. He has not specified the actual amount though. According to Luzhkov, the blackout paved the way to the market for Moscow United Energy Co. (Russian acronym is MOEK), which creation was advocated by Luzhkov and which stocks would be exchanged for the stocks of the Moscow Electrical Grid Company and Moscow Heating Network Company.
The experts view MOEK strengthening on the energy market of Moscow as another step of the mayor towards grasping control over the total energy system of Russia's capital.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 15, 2005
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