Moscow, 20 May 2006. An official ceremony was held in St.-Petersburg today to bring on line power unit 1 at the Pravoberezhnaya CHPP of OAO "TGC-1". The ceremony was attended by Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Northwest Federal District Ilya Klebanov; St.-Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko, Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" Anatoly Chubais; and Director General of OAO "TGC-1" Andrey Likhachev.

The new power unit with a capacity of 180 MW of electricity and 260 Gcal/h of heat will help tackle the issue of energy shortages in the Leningrad energy system and boost reliability of electricity and heat supply to customers. The project was financed with the funds provided by OAO "TGC-1" and a USD40m EBTD loan.

The Pravoberezhnaya CHPP meets all modern environmental requirements. The power plant will help reduce hazardous emissions by half and stop the disposal of industrial wastewater into the Neva river.

The launch of the new power plant is a unique case of replacement of obsolete capacity in Russia. After power unit 1 is brought on line, CHPP-5 (the first power plant built in the Petersburg/Leningrad energy system under the GOELRO plan back in 1922) will be decommissioned. The old power plant ensured uninterrupted power to the city even during the siege of Leningrad. However, by the end of the 20^th century, the plant's equipment reached the end of its economic life.

Power unit 2 at the Pravoberezhnaya CHPP scheduled to be put into operation in 2008-2009 will use a combined-cycle technology and have a capacity of 240-320 MW of electricity and 260 Gcal/h of heat. The list of key investment projects of OAO "TGC-1" in St.-Petersburg and Leningrad Region scheduled for the next few years includes the commissioning of a new turbine generator at the Avtovskaya CHPP-15, modernization and expansion of CHPP-14, construction of phase 2 at the Vasileostrovskaya CHPP-7, and a major overhaul and development of St.-Petersburg's district heating systems.