Moscow, 8 October. Sergey Dubinin, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" held a conference call today to review the progress made in the construction of the second hydro generator at the Bureyskaya HPP, the second generating unit at Nizhnevartovskaya TPP, and the first phase of the renovation project at Tyumenskaya CHPP-1 to install a CCGT-220 generator.

The second phase of the construction project at Bureyskaya HPP is nearing completion. To date, the second hydro generator of the power plant has been installed. The reservoir has been filled to 206 meters deep, a level required for the start-up of the generator. It is anticipated that the generator will start no-load operation on 20 October 2003 and will go on-load by mid-November. The events were previously planned for late December 2003. The first generating unit at the Bureyskaya HPP was put into operation on 30 June 2003, and since then the power plant has generated 248,844,000 kWh of electricity.

Sergey Dubinin also congratulated the builders of the Nizhnevartovskaya TPP on the completion of installation of the steam boiler at the plant's second generating unit. The hydraulic testing has been successfully accomplished, and this morning the boiler has been fired to prepare for the pressure check. It is planned to start no-load testing of the turbine as early as mid-October. In late October, the generating unit will undergo a trial run and load testing. The builders assure that they are doing everything necessary to launch the generator in strict accordance with the schedule. The installed capacity of the generator is 800 MW.

In the course of renovation of the first phase of the Tyumenskaya CHPP-1, a boiler has been installed and is being prepared for hydraulic testing. It is expected that the boiler will be accepted by an inspection of the State Committee for Industrial and Mining Safety Supervision ("Gosgortekhnadzor") by 15 October, and the boiler will then be fired and prepared for pressure check. The steam turbine has been installed; the installation of the gas turbine starts on 9 October. The no-load testing of the turbine is scheduled to start on 30 November. The CCGT-220 start-up is scheduled for late December 2003.

Sergey Dubinin noted that the construction projects at all of the above power facilities are being implemented in strict accordance with the approved work schedules.

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