Moscow. 24 January 2006. The Moscow energy system is operating without breakdowns during the peak consumption period. Such was the statement made at the meeting of the Emergency Management Center* to coordinate the actions taken in the Moscow Energy System during the period of extreme cold. The meeting was presided by Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" Anatoly Chubais.

In the evening of 23 January, despite the rising outdoor temperatures, the electricity consumption in Moscow and the surrounding region peaked at 15,942 MW. This morning, when the temperature was minus 17?C, the consumption amounted to 15,254 MW, which was the same as the morning consumption peaks of 19 and 20 January, when the temperatures were as low as minus 25-30?C. This was due to the cooling of residential and commercial buildings caused by the prolonged period of cold weather, despite the fact that the temperature of water in the district heating networks was higher than the level required at the current outdoor temperatures.

According to dispatchers' forecasts, the load in the Moscow energy system on 24 January will reach 15,800-15,900 MW. The energy saving mode will remain in place until 10:30 p.m., and the reductions in electricity deliveries to industrial consumers amounting up to 500 MW. The supply reduction schedules have been agreed in advance with the consumers, and the Governments of Moscow and the Moscow Region.** Tomorrow morning, the energy consumption is forecast at 15,100 MW, so the dispatchers do not expect any power restrictions. However, in the evening of 25 January, the peak load will reach 15,500 MW, which means that the energy saving mode will be resumed.

Yesterday evening, the Unified Energy System saw a load of 150,300 MW, the highest since 1990. Across the country, the peak loads in the energy system have been on the increase over the previous day for the ninth consecutive day. Since 17 January 2006, the power plants in the European part of RAO "UES of Russia" have been operating under limited supply of the key fuel, natural gas, which had to be replaced with the back-up fuels, primarily fuel oil. Throughout RAO UESR, the fuel oil inventories fall by an additional 55,000-60,000 tonnes daily. Because of that, the energy companies of RAO "UES of Russia" have started to replenish their fuel oil inventories. However, some suppliers have raised the fuel oil prices up to RUB10,000 per tonne (with the usual price of RUB 2,500-3,000 per tonne), which makes it difficult for the power plants to ensure that the required fuel inventories are available, given that the electricity tariffs are fixed. The RAO UES senior executives have voiced their concern in a letter to the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.

___________________________________________

* The meeting was attended by senior executives of the Moscow Generation Company, Moscow City Grid Company and Moscow Region Grid Company, the heads of the Moscow Region's energy dispatching units, as well as key officers of the RAO UESR administrative staff, Head of the Moscow Municipal Services Directorate and First Deputy Mayor of Moscow Pyotr Aksyonov, Minister of Utilities, Fuel and Energy of the Moscow Region Government Viktor Beshkarev, Head of the Main Directorate of Russia's Ministry of Emergencies for the city of Moscow Aleksandr Yeliseyev, and representatives of the Moscow Military District HQ.

** The deliveries of power to consumers will be reduced to the lowest possible level of consumption required for a consumer to safely complete a technological process, with advance notice given to each such consumer. These coercive measures, taken pursuant to Resolution of the Russian Government No. 664 of 1999, are designed to prevent power outages. The temporary restrictions of power supply to industrial consumers are necessary to ensure stable power supply to households, medical institutions, the city's vital infrastructure, and buildings of state authorities and security agencies.

The energy companies submitted for approval by the Fuel and Energy Department of the Moscow City and Moscow Region a list of consumers to which electricity supply would be reduced during a period of peak load in the energy system caused by prolonged low temperatures. Such consumers primarily include auxiliary facilities of industrial enterprises. The following consumers were not included in the above list: social buildings and facilities, buildings of the state authorities, medical institutions, military units, facilities of the Ministry of the Interior, Federal Security Service, nuclear centers, underground railways ("metro"), etc.