Moscow. 19 January 2006. The Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" Anatoly Chubais held another meeting of the Emergency Management Center* to coordinate actions taken in the Moscow Energy System during the period of extreme cold.

The record low temperatures created an unprecedented load on the Unified Energy System. As at 18:00 hours Moscow time on 18 January 2006, a record peak load of 148,400 MW was recorded in the Unified Energy System. The dispatching units forecast that the peak load record might be broken this evening by another 1,500-2,000 MW.

Yesterday evening, the Moscow Energy System experienced the highest ever load, 15,770 MW. The morning peak load of 15,300 MW was at 11:00 hours Moscow time on 19 January 2006. However, the Moscow energy system worked stable throughout the evening (18 January) and morning (19 January) peaks of energy consumption, without power outages. Owing to the well-coordinated advance measures, all power plants, grid and dispatching facilities in the Moscow energy system maintained stable operation. In order to ensure that additional power is generated and the power cuts to customers are reduced, some power plants in Mosenergo utilized their back-up generation facilities. The temperature of the water in the district heating networks corresponds to the weather conditions.

During the evening peak load of 19 January, an even higher level of electricity consumption is expected. According to dispatchers' forecasts, the load may reach 16,100 MW.

In view of fact that the level of electricity consumption remains high in the Moscow region throughout the daylight hours, an energy saving mode will be in place in the Moscow Region from 08:00 until 21:00 hours Moscow time.

According to preliminary dispatching schedules, the total reductions of electricity supply to industrial enterprises in the area may exceed yesterday's level by 40 MW. The supply reduction schedules have been agreed in advance with consumers, the Governments of Moscow and the Moscow Region.

The deliveries of power to such consumers will be reduced to the lowest possible level of consumption required for the consumer to safely complete a technological process, with advance notice given to each such consumer. These coercive measures, taken pursuant to Resolution of the Russian Government** No. 664 of 1999, are designed to prevent failures in the operation of energy facilities. The temporary restrictions of power supply to industrial consumers are necessary to ensure stable power supply to households, medical institutions, the city's vital infrastructure, and buildings of state authorities and security agencies.

At the same time, as a result of increased power consumption and limited transfer capability of the power lines, as well as topology of some parts of Moscow and the Moscow Region, some substations, such as the 500 kV Beskudnikovo substation and 500 kV Ochakovo substation, are running at their maximum or are overloaded. The energy companies are doing their best to prevent emergency cuts in electricity supply to household consumers.

The participants of the Emergency Management Center meeting noted that it was the first time OAO Mosenergosbyt had encountered the problem of refusal by certain consumers to obey the dispatchers' orders to limit electricity consumption. However, such restrictions are provided for in the power supply agreements and agreed with the Moscow City Administration and the Government of the Moscow Region, so the power cuts will take place in accordance with the schedules.

The failure by industrial consumers to timely comply with dispatchers' orders to cut electricity consumption jeopardizes the reliability of electricity supply to households and the social infrastructure.

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* The meeting was attended by the top managers of the Moscow Generation Company, Moscow City Grid Company and Moscow Region Grid Company, heads of the Moscow Region's energy dispatching units, as well as key officers of the RAO UESR administrative staff, Head of the Moscow Municipal Services Directorate and First Deputy Mayor of Moscow Pyotr Aksyonov, and Minister of Utilities, Fuel and Energy of the Moscow Region Government Viktor Beshkarev.

** Pursuant to Resolution of the Russian Government No. 664 of 22 June 1999, in September 2005 , the energy companies submitted for approval of the Fuel and Energy Department of the Moscow City and Moscow Region a list of consumers to which electricity supply would be reduced in a period of peak load in the energy system caused by prolonged abnormally low temperatures. Such consumers primarily include auxiliary facilities of industrial enterprises. The following consumers were not included in such list: social infrastructure, buildings and facilities of state authorities, medical institutions, military units, facilities of the Ministry of the Interior, Federal Security Service, nuclear centers, underground railways, etc.