27.02.2008 // Information Department of Leningrad NPP

The nuclear city of Sosnovy Bor may face new blackouts

Such is the conclusion of the small investigation carried out by a group of journalists from Sosnovy Bor. Seemingly paradoxical this conclusion is still quite typical of Russia.

Lets remember what happened quite recently.

On Feb 5 2008 at 8:05 AM 110 KV sub-station #168 of Gatchina electric networks (subsidiary of Lenenergo OJSC) supplying electricity to the residential area of Sosnovy Bor caught fire. The fire was extinguished within just 20 minutes but the greater part of the city was left without light.

The local authorities reported a crisis: the hospitals and the pumping station of Vodocanal (Water Canal Company) were left without electricity. The hospitals got light the first. The pumping station got it a bit later.

As always nothing was done to inform the public of the incident. The regional mass media were the first to react as always with scaring news about some accident at Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant. Due to internet problems (the local internet provider had no light either), the press services of the local administration and Leningrad NPP were not able to react to the rumors with official statements. So, things might well end in a general panic. But the efficiency of the firemen and the inventiveness of the press services of LNPP and the local administration helped to avoid such a sad outcome.

And what do we have as a result?

The administration of Sosnovy Bor is “extremely displeased.”

“We have no guarantees that this situation will not recur. The city has no reserve power supply scheme. This situation is absolutely unacceptable,” says the first deputy head of the administration Vasily Vorobyov.

The local authorities are already searching for reserve power generating capacities for the city’s hospitals, sewerage and water pumps and other facilities.

In his turn, the director of Gatchina Electric Network of Lenenergo OJSC Nikolay Vitovschik says:

“The incident took place on Feb 5 at 7:59 AM. It was caused by a failure of 10 KV busbar selectionalizing switch. Its breakage produced some smoke but not fire. The local personnel had put it out long before the firemen arrived. After that they switched off the 1st bus section and began their work. At 2:50 PM they finished the work and switched on the 2nd transformer.

It is not our fault that the Sosnovy Bor Municipal Electric Network company failed to switch to other sources. We were not fully disabled. One transformer and two bus sections were still in service and they could switch to them. But, unfortunately, they almost fully rely on the first bus section: almost 80% of the population gets electricity from that section.

A special commission is investigating the incident. Naturally, all concerned parties – the Government of Leningrad region, the administration of Sosnovy Bor, the Municipal Electric Network company and Lenenergo – should be involved in this process. We need to revise the power supply scheme of Sosnovy Bor and to find reserve sources, for example, sub-station #503 or sub-station #501, of the sub-station of the Research Institute of Technologies.

It is a paradox: we can’t stop our sub-station for a three-day repair because the whole city relies on it.

So, it is not our fault. It is the fault of the local administration, Sosnovy Bor Municipal Electric Network Company and Lenenergo.”

During his visit to Leningrad NPP the governor of Leningrad region Valery Serdukov, who is member of the board of Lenergato OJSC, said:

“The question is about the quality of the work of the sub-station. We are planning to build new modern sub-stations and power transmission lines. But this is a long process. We can’t do everything at once.”

To note, in Feb 2008 there were 4 blackouts in Sosnovy Bor (the shortest blackout lasted for half an hour, the longest one for 6.5 hours).

The investigation has shown that for stable power supply the city needs either a new sub-station (2bln RUR) or a new power transmission line (0.5bln RUR). So, nobody can say yet when Sosnovy Bor will have no more problems with electricity supply. As you may know, in Russia the shoemaker is always ill shod.

While we were preparing the article, representatives of the administration of Sosnovy Bor and Lenenergo met once again. Vovorbyov said that the sides agreed to include the construction of a new 110 KV power transmission line and the reconstruction of sub-station #168 in the company’s investment program. “However, you should not expect early resolution of this problem. The new line can be built no earlier than next year,” Vorobyov said.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Russia has decreed that power supply safety offices should be formed in the regions within the next two months. So, now Sosnovy Bor residents will have a place to complaint to once they are left without light…