Governor of the Kaluga region Anatoly Artamonov chaired a meeting today at the region Administration for a committee on the region’s energy development. Russian Grids General Director Oleg Budargin also took part in the conversation.

Discussion at the meeting touched on the construction of power grid infrastructure facilities in accordance with the region’s plan of industrial development and earlier concluded agreements. In January of 2011, a Cooperation Agreement was concluded between the heads of the Russian power grid complex and the Kaluga region. New large energy facilities will be constructed in the Kaluga region in the near future as part of this agreement.

One of these is the Obninskaya 500 kV substation. It will ensure reliable electricity supply to consumers in the northern regions of Kaluga region which is home to various facilities owned by the largest Russian and international companies such as Gestamp-Severstal-Kaluga, NLMK Kaluga, Samsung, L’Oreal, Nestle, Hemofarm, Berlin-Chemie, Grimme, Lemken and others. Russian Grids’ subsidiaries Federal Grid Company of the Unified Energy System and the Central and Volga IDGC have been tasked with synchronising investment programmes to construct the new substation and its feeders.

To further unlock the region’s industrial potential, the project is currently being implemented to construct a 110 kV Kolosovo substation and the Sozvezdie-Kolosovo 110 kV double-circuit power line in the northern part of the Kaluga region. Construction and installation work on the initial start-up facilities began in April of this year. The project will be completely finished by next year. The project will improve the reliability of power supply to consumers in the northern regions of the Kaluga region (including to residents of the western zone of the Vorsino Industrial Park), creating additional power capacity with the goal of meeting the growing needs of existing consumers, ensure uninterrupted power supply and providing for emergency power supply facilities.

Another important project aimed at developing the power grid infrastructure in the Kaluga region includes renovating the 220 kV Electron substation and constructing a second transformer. The project will create the necessary foundation for integrating the Kaluga Cement Factory LLC in the Sukhinichsky district into the utility network.

Construction of the first manufacturing plant in the Lyudinovo Special Economic Area began in May of this year. This is a key event for the Kaluga region. Over the previous several years, industrial developments have actively expanded into the region’s central and northern regions, and now investors have finally discovered all of the benefits of the southern districts of Kaluga region. To supply the Lyudinovo Special Economic Area with the necessary power, it is essential to construct a 110 kV substation and its feeders. The government of the region is partnering with Russian Grids and the System Operator of the Unified Power System to jointly design the energy facilities necessary to supply power to the Lyudinovo Special Economic Area.

In summarising the results of the meeting, Anatoly Artamonov stated, “Jointly working with Russian Grids through regular meetings of the committee has allowed us to not only save the oblast from an energy collapse over the last few years, but it has also been a colossal incentive for the socio-economic development of the region. I am certain that the environment is just right for the Kaluga region to create a model power grid complex within the next 2-3 years.”

In turn, Oleg Budargin stated, “Thanks to our combined efforts with the Kaluga region administration, the region’s power grid complex is currently functioning very well and its main indicators are higher than the national average, however, there are still areas for improvement to fully achieve the goal set before Russian Grids by the Russian President. The region only has 5% of covered main substations, but they are still a certain hindrance to further developing the territory, which is why this percentage needs to be decreased further, increasing accessibility. It is also possible to further fine-tune the production of electrical equipment in the region through programmes of import substitution.”

At the end of the session, a decision was made to prepare a new comprehensive agreement between the Kaluga region and Russian Grids while maintaining regular sessions of the committee under the leadership of the Governor to resolve current and potential issues, which include increasing transformer capacity, creating new substations and power lines, as well as creating the necessary foundation and infrastructure for expanding electric transport in the region.