Vladimir Putin's introductory remarks:

A major accident, one of the largest accidents in recent history, happened at the Sayano-Shushensya power plant on Monday. People have died or are still missing. This is a grave tragedy. We have spoken with the rescue team and even these people, who have seen a lot in their line of work, say their nerves are frayed.

We will restore the plant, but lives have been lost. This is the most difficult part.

I would like to once again express my condolences to the families of the victims, and also to thank the rescue team, the medics and generation specialists who have dealt with the tragedy promptly and professionally, preventing the situation from taking an even worse, more tragic turn.

Our main goal now is to help those who have lost their relatives in the tragedy, and all those who have been affected. As you know, RusHydro has decided to pay 1 million roubles to the families whose relatives have died. This is a good decision, but it is not enough. Payments should also be made to the families of those whose relatives are missing. We know now what happened and why, and nobody must pretend that they don't know the reasons. Moreover, we should make additional payments, including to minors aged under 18.

One-off payments, of 1 million roubles, will be made to the families whose members have died in the tragedy or are missing, and one-off payments will also be made to other victims.

Legislation is not perfect, and we should improve it where possible. I am confident that the State Duma will react promptly, as soon as it reconvenes.

As I see it, the Government should be given a chance to respond to such events promptly and in the required amount.

I believe that the regional authorities should also take additional measures to help the people. You can take this as an order.

Mr Zimin (Viktor Zimin, Prime Minister of Khakassia), I know that you are working towards this end. I have drawn your attention to this issue during the conference call. I have seen that you met with people afterwards, and lists were compiled. However, we must also regard the problem informally.

We must also settle the problem of education for children from the victim's families, to be paid for from the budget.

And one more important thing - RusHydro and the Khakassian authorities must promptly take requisite measures with assistance from the federal Government to provide jobs to the people for the duration of the plant's repairs. This is a must.

Second, several explanations have been offered for the tragedy. Let me emphasise that we want to know the exact reason so as to prevent a repetition of such tragedies.

In general, we should check all strategic infrastructure facilities, scrutinising the process of their modernisation. This means also the introduction of new automated control systems. However, it is clear already now that we must improve compliance with technical, technological discipline. These issues merit special attention.

Third, at a meeting of the Government Presidium yesterday we decided that a government commission would be set up to monitor the relief efforts and the restoration of the Sayano-Shushenskaya power plant.

We should draft a clear plan of restoring the plant. This work has been entrusted to the Ministry of Energy and RusHydro, which must use all available possibilities in the sector, such as personnel and research and technical capabilities. The plan is to be drafted and submitted to the government commission within six weeks, and to be approved by a government resolution.

We should allocate sufficient funds for these efforts. They money can and must be spent with maximum effect. If decisions are based on cutting-edge technology, relatively modest funds - modest compared to the cost of the power plant - will suffice to create a new type of power generation solutions.

Allocations from the federal fund will also be used to complete the construction of the onshore discharge sluice at the power plant. This is a planned effort, but its implementation should be accelerated. We were to commission the sluice in 2011, but now we should do it sooner.

I would like to draw your attention to another key problem that must be resolved promptly and with the utmost effect - the spring flood in 2010. We must ensure safety and protect the power plant, which means that the government commission should focus its attention on this problem. I expect it to report on the measures taken within a month.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is to take measures to produce and promptly assemble requisite equipment and other materials at the power plant.

As I have said before, the action plan is to be approved by a government resolution. In my view, this resolution could stipulate the introduction of a simplified scheme for designing and manufacturing requisite equipment, and for conducting repairs and construction. A single contractor should be chosen for design and restoration at the plant, purchase of equipment, and construction.

All of this must be done to ensure that we complete the project by the approved deadline. I see here representatives of the Investigation Committee and the technical safety regulator, Rostekhnadzor. I spoke with Mr Bastyrkin yesterday (Alexander Bastyrkin, head of the Investigation Committee at the Prosecutor General's Office). I have asked him to spotlight the goal of determining the reasons for the accident and also to ensure compliance with legislation and the interests of the state during construction, assembly and relief efforts at the power plant, so as to rule out the involvement of any mediators.

At the same time, we must maximally accelerate the construction of the Boguchany hydropower plant to ensure stable electricity supply. I want to hear what has been done towards this end.

Fourth, the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant is the key element, the backbone of Siberia's energy system. Several regions, the housing and utilities sector, and many enterprises, including five large metallurgical companies, depend on it. I want you to take proper measures to guarantee uninterrupted and stable electricity supply to the cities and industrial facilities.

We must compile a comprehensive plan of possible replacements for the damaged plant, with a sufficient margin for the winter season, in order to ensure a stable energy balance without any damage to consumers.

As of today, the regime of constrained electricity supply has been cancelled, thanks to the use of reserve capacities at 20 Siberian power plants.

Mr Shmatko (Sergei Shmatko, Minister of Energy), you must check and, wherever necessary, order repairs of the grid system to ensure reliable electricity supply during the autumn and winter seasons. In addition, we must create a mechanism for prompt regulation and rapid response to possible emergencies during the autumn and winter seasons, such as temperature fluctuations, which are possible in this region. In other words, we should have teams that will be ready and will know what to do, and will have the requisite technology for doing it.

We also need a scheme for supplying coal to thermal power plants, which have taken on an additional load now. For this purpose, the Ministry of Transport and RZD must guarantee the transportation of 6.5 million metric tons of coal in the next 12 months. They must quickly draft and approve transportation schedules, coordinate plans, and ensure the provision of a sufficient amount of rolling stock.

At the same time, hydropower plants - this plant and other hydropower plants - produce relatively cheap electricity, and its replacement with electricity produced at other types of power plants must not cause an increase in prices. We all know that we live in a market economy, and it is clear that replacement of hydroelectricity with electricity produced at thermal power plants is possible and will be justified in this situation, but three must be no price hikes.

I am warning you that there must be no attempts to speculate on this tragedy, to force (higher prices on) consumers; we must not allow this to happen.

Therefore, the Federal Tariff Service, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Justice have been instructed to draft a government resolution on possible introduction of temporary state regulation of prices on the wholesale electricity market. This procedure will be applied in the following cases: during a temporary shortage of electricity in individual regions, in the absence of competition between suppliers for technological reasons, and in force majeure situations. This regime should comprise a mechanism for evening out prices on the wholesale market. You have three weeks to draft the government resolution. We must approve it by September 10.

So, let us start the discussion.