Moscow, 6 November 2005. Today, Sunday, November 6th, at 11:15 Moscow time, an official ceremony was held in the settlement of Talakan, Amursk Region, to commission the fourth hydropower unit at the Bureyskaya HPP. The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Management Board Anatoly Chubais.

The commissioning ceremony was postponed by several hours due to adverse weather conditions. The strong wind and snowstorm accompanied with thunder and lightning prevented Chairman of the Russian Government Mikhail Fradkov from flying from the city of Blagoveshchensk by helicopter to take part in the ceremony to put the power plant's unit 4 into operation. The delegation of RAO "UES of Russia" which flew from Moscow had to land in Khabarovsk instead of Blagoveshchensk due to the adverse weather, and reached the Bureyskaya HPP site by road.

The Bureyskaya HPP is the largest hydroelectric construction project in Russia over the past 15 years. It is of great importance for developing and improving reliability of the Far East energy system and the entire electricity industry of Russia.

The first three power units of the Bureyskaya HPP were brought on line in 2003-2004, which made it possible to ensure reliable and uninterrupted electricity supply in the Far East, reduce the region's dependence on the expensive fuel that has to be brought to the area, and curb the electricity rates growth, primarily for households. For instance, the electricity rates for households in some energy systems in the Far East were reduced by 5-9% in 2003, 2.09% in 2004, and 1.2% in 2005.

The fourth hydropower unit of the Bureyskaya HPP is the first of the plant's units to operate in the regular mode. The unit's capacity at the total water head of 256 meters is 335 MW, with the efficiency standing at 96.2%. When the plant's fourth power unit is brought on line, the capacity of the Bureyskaya HPP will increase by half to 1005 MW from 670 MW.

The power plant is fitted with advanced hydraulic power equipment manufactured by the companies of OAO "Power Machines", a power engineering group.

The Bureyskaya HPP is a top-priority construction project of RAO "UES of Russia" financed under the RAO UES investment programme. In 2000 to 2004, RAO "UES of Russia" allocated for the purpose over USD 26 billion in earmarked funds. In 2005, RAO "UES of Russia" will invest RUB5.9 billion in funds in the project. The Bureyskaya HPP allocate RUB0.2 billion of its own money and RUB0.2 billion of borrowed funds for the project.

As the power units of the Bureyskaya HPP are brought on line and the power transmission lines under construction are put into operation, the Integrated Energy System of East will become a balanced isolated energy system. The power plant has prospects of dynamic growth and will help resolve the region's energy problems; it will help resolve the region's energy problems.

The Bureyskaya HPP is designed to be equipped with 6 hydraulic units. When the power plant is completed, the capacity of the Bureyskaya HPP will reach 2,000 MW, and the average annual output will be 7.1 billion kWh. Units 5 and 6 are scheduled for commissioning in 2007. The runners at the first two hydraulic units are to be replaced for regular ones in 2008-2009, when the plant construction is completed and all six power units are put into operation.

Congratulations to participants of the official ceremony to launch hydropower unit No. 4 of the Bureyskaya HPP.