During his visit to the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Plant, Igor Sechin, on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's directive, restarted the plant's restored 640-megawatt hydroelectric unit No. 5 to commercial operation for the first time after its failure on August 17, 2009. Mr Putin, who was on a working visit to St Petersburg, observed the process via videoconference. The Prime Minister instructed that the approval process needed for an equipment supply road to be built to the SSHPP be carried out and pointed out that supply deadlines must be observed.
At the government commission meeting that took place after hydroelectric unit No. 5 was restarted, delegates discussed the progress of reconstruction work at the SSHPP. They also noted that the restarting of hydroelectric units No. 5 and No. 6 is an important step in the plant's reconstruction and the endeavour to decrease the Siberian grid's power shortage that resulted from August 2009's stoppage.
The full-capacity functioning of the two hydroelectric units, which have a base capacity of 1280 megawatts, minimises the risk of flooding and guarantees water supply to the community, and to the industrial and social facilities located at the lower reaches of the hydroelectric power plant.
According to the confirmed schedule for 2010, hydroelectric units No. 4 and No. 3 are also planned to go online (hydroelectric unit No. 6 was restarted on February 24, 2010, with Mr Putin in attendance).
Apart from preparations for the restart of those two units, other reconstruction work is ongoing. In June 2010, the first stage of the plant's shore spillway will be commissioned, enhancing the safety of the plant's hydraulic engineering structures. The commissioning of the shore spillway will enable the safe passage of runoff in the vicinity of the SSHPP.
The plant's reconstruction is to be completed in 2014.