Moscow, 5 April 2006. Grozny 330 kV substation has become operational today in the Republic of Chechnya. The official ceremony was attended by Chechnya's President Alu Alkhanov; Chairman of the Chechen Government Ramzan Kadyrov; Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" Anatoly Chubais; member of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" and Chairman of OAO "Federal Grid Company" Andrey Rappoport.
The Grozny-330 substation with one autotransformer of 125,000 kVA capacity, which has been brought on line in the rural area near Grozny, will improve power supply reliability in Chechnya, helping unload the transmission lines and reduce power losses.
One of the biggest substations in the North Caucasus, Grozny 330 is a systemic substation with advanced equipment manufactured by Russian and foreign firms. The dispatcher may use remote control devices to perform switching at the substation.
There has recently been a surge in electricity use in Chechnya, which is a sign of economic recovery in the republic. In 2000, Chechya consumed 494 million kWh of electricity, while in 2005, the energy use rose to 1,386 million kWh. This year, the power consumption is expected to top 1,700 million kWh.
RAO "UES of Russia" started restoration of Chechnya's energy sector in November 1999. Since then, the construction and repair crews have brought on line 7,840 km of transmission lines of 330 kV and less, 79 substations for voltages of 330-35 kV, and over 1,900 substations of 6-10/0.4 kV. In 2000 to 2005, the expenditure on the restoration efforts in Chechnya totalled RUB7.8 billion.
By now, work has been completed to place into operation the Automated Commercial Electricity Metering System for Russia's wholesale electricity market (FOREM).
Also, the construction and installation works have been finally completed to restore the Argunskaya CHPP (first phase).
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