Johannesburg (S. Africa)

On October 1-10, Johannesburg hosted the III International Contest for Specialists of Heating Stations Cyberthon-2004. AO MOSENERGO’s team from CHP-26 took part in this competition.

The competition has been held since 2002. It was first launched jointly by RAO UES and ESKOM (South Africa), a global power major. This year, Russia was represented by two teams: one from CHP-26 (AO MOSENERGO), the winner of the previous international contest, and a team from Novogorkovsk CHP (Nizhnovenergo), the winner of the All-Russia competition.

The contest for specialists was held on computer simulators manufactured by the company Training Equipment for Power Stations. The competition consisted of three stages: shutting down of the power unit, dispatch operation, and launch of the power unit in various modes. The winners were selected based on results of the last two stages. The first stage was a preparation.

The Russian judges pointed to the high level of professional skills and the readiness to efficiently operate in emergencies.

The results of the competition were summed up by a computer program. The first place was won by CHP-26’s team, which led by a wide margin of 400 points. Thus, the Cup has returned to Russia. Nizhnovenergo’s team has won the bronze, while ESKOM’s teams came in second, fourth and fifth places.

On one hand such competitions help increase the professional level of power specialists and train emergency skills, said Galina Shepilova, head of the training division of AO MOSENERGO’s HR department. On the other hand, it is a way to exchange experience and establish close international cooperation in the electric industry.

The success of the contest has proved that there is a need to expand the number of participants in the future by inviting more teams from different countries.