EKATERINBURG, August 22. /TASS/. Emergency situation at Reftinskaya GRES in Sverdlovsk region scared the Siberians, detained passenger trains, left a number of Lukoil enterprises without electricity and tested the power system of military units and formations of the Central Military District for emergency preparedness.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the total power deficit in the Unified Energy System of Russia (UES) as a result of the accident at the Reftinskaya GRES, which resulted in cascading outages, amounted to 5.8 thousand MW. More than 600 thousand people were left without power supply. For industrial facilities included in the shutdown zone, information is being clarified.
Start-up and commissioning work has begun at the state district power plant itself.
Siberians were the first to sound the alarm
Residents of Siberia faced massive power outages late in the evening. The initial version of Siberian power engineers was that the cause could have been a thunderstorm or an accident on a power line. It was this version that became the priority for specialists for several hours.
After massive power outages occurred among household consumers, the Siberian energy system switched to an isolated operating mode, after which the power supply in the networks gradually began to be restored.
According to the website of the UES System Operator, generation and consumption in Siberia decreased significantly after 14:00 Moscow time. After which seven territories of the Kemerovo region were completely or partially left without electricity. The shutdown included Guryevsk, Belovo and Belovsky districts, Salair, Topkinsky district and Yurga, as well as Rudnichny and Kirovsky districts in Kemerovo.
Version of the Ministry of Energy
Later, the version of the accident on Siberian power lines was not confirmed by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation. According to the department, mass outages occurred due to an emergency situation at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant.
"At 14:12 Moscow time today, under the influence of protection, several high-voltage lines were switched off: Reftinskaya GRES - Tagil, Yuzhnaya - Reftinskaya GRES, Tyumen - Nelym, Tyumen - Lugovaya, Anna - Reftinskaya GRES, Tobolskaya - Kutarbitka", "Krotovo - Tatarka", "Sotnik - Tavda", "Sotnik - MDF". Of these with successful automatic restart: "Reftinskaya GRES - Tagil", "Yuzhnaya - Reftinskaya GRES", with unsuccessful - "Tobolskaya - Kutarbitka", "Krotovo - Tatarka", "Sotnik - Tavda", "Sotnik - MDF". The cause of the accident was the destruction of the communication capacitor of the high-voltage lines "Anna - Reftinskaya GRES" with the release of oil and fire. There were no injuries," the official statement said departments.
It noted that the fire departments of the Ministry of Emergency Situations were called to the scene. The Tyumen power system switched to isolated operation with excess power at a frequency of 50.469 Hz. Trans-Baikal, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Khakass, Irkutsk, Buryatsk and part of the Kuzbass energy system switched to isolated operation with a power shortage and frequency reduction to 49.6 Hz.
"Household consumers were left without power supply. The power of disconnected consumers is 342 MW. Emergency and restoration work is underway," the ministry said in a statement.
This information was also confirmed to TASS by the press service of PJSC Enel Russia for the Urals Federal District. They added that as a result of the operation of technological protections, the equipment associated with the generation of electricity was turned off. The main equipment of the power plant (power units) is operational. “Start-up operations are currently underway,” the company added.
The Urals remained unaffected by the outages
Despite the fact that Reftinskaya GRES is located on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region, in this subject of the Ural federal district, unlike Siberia, mass power outages were avoided. The emergency at the GRES did not affect consumers in the Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions either. "Everything is working correctly, but just in case, the interregional distribution network company“IDGC of Urals operates in high alert mode,” Natalya Baldova, press secretary of IDGC of Urals OJSC, previously told TASS.
According to the press service of the Ural Regional Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a similar situation is observed throughout the federal district, including the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, as well as in the Kurgan region.
The surge in electricity after the emergency that occurred at the state district power plant did not affect the operation of enterprises in the Sverdlovsk region. This emergency situation did not affect the combat readiness of military units and units of the Central Military District stationed in Siberia, where mass outages occurred.
“In units and military formations stationed in Siberia, outages from the main source of power supply were recorded, but the Ministry of Defense facilities were instantly powered from a backup autonomous source. The emergency situation at the Ural State District Power Plant did not affect combat readiness; military formations are operating as usual,” - said a representative of the Central Military District.
He clarified that outages were recorded in the Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Omsk regions, as well as in the Altai Republic, Khakassia and Buryatia.
Restoring power supply
According to the latest data from the press service of the Ministry of Energy, power supply to consumers has been fully restored. "On this moment all consumers have been supplied with voltage,” the agency’s interlocutor said, clarifying that we are talking about all regions that were previously disconnected.
Previously, it was reported that electricity would be supplied only to residential consumers. It is not specified which industrial and social facilities were shut down.
It was reported that production had stopped at Tomskneftekhim, which is part of Sibur, as well as power outages at Lukoil enterprises. Household consumers of the Republic of Buryatia, Altai and Trans-Baikal territories, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Omsk regions, more than 600 thousand people in total, were left without power supply.
Russian Railways also told TASS that train traffic in these regions is carried out as usual.
About Reftinskaya GRES
Reftinskaya GRES is the largest thermal power plant in Russia operating on solid fuel. It is located 100 km northeast of Yekaterinburg and 18 km from Asbest. According to the Ural Energy Museum, the share of electricity generated at the state district power station of the total volume consumed by the Sverdlovsk region is about 40%. Relatively speaking, almost every second light bulb in the homes of residents of the Sverdlovsk region lights up from electricity generated by the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant.
At the moment, the GRES is part of PJSC Enel Russia along with Sredneuralskaya, Nevinnomysskaya GRES, located in the North Caucasus, and Konakovskaya GRES in Central Russia.
In December 2010, the company began re-equipping the Reftinskaya GRES to reduce its environmental impact. As the General Director of Enel Russia, Carlo Palasciano Villamagna, previously reported, last year the company completed a large-scale technical re-equipment of three power units of the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant. Two of them have a capacity of 300 MW and one - 500 MW. According to him, bag filters with an efficiency of 99.9% were installed at the power units, which will prevent the release into the atmosphere of a total of about 40 thousand tons of ash per year at maximum load.
As part of the agreement on cooperation in the field of protection environment between the government of the Sverdlovsk region and PJSC Enel Russia, signed in 2011, energy company has already invested about 20 billion rubles in environmental protection measures, including in 2015 the volume of investments amounted to 2.6 billion rubles.
Enel Russia is a generating company, part of the Enel group. Since October 2004 it has a branch in Yekaterinburg. In 2011, Enel Russia commissioned two 410 MW units at Sredneuralskaya and Nevinnomysskaya GRES, and the company is modernizing the ash and slag removal system at Reftinskaya GRES.
https://www.site/2016-08-23/prichinoy_avarii_na_reftinskoy_gres_mog_stat_vneshniy_faktor
The cause of the accident at Reftinskaya GRES could be an “external factor”
External factor could have caused an accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant, where the day before there was a destruction of the capacitor with the release and ignition of oil, due to which the protection system turned off some high-voltage lines. The corresponding assumption was voiced at today's meeting of the headquarters for the safety of energy supply of the Sverdlovsk region, held at the power plant. As the press service of the Sverdlovsk Prime Minister reported to the site, at the meeting it was formulated the main task: to understand the reasons for the technological disruption at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant, energy experts did not rule out the influence of an external factor.
“There are guesses about the reasons for the technological violation, but the facts have not been established,” said Denis Pasler, Chairman of the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region. According to him, within three weeks a special commission of Rostekhnadzor of the Russian Federation will understand the causes of the accident at the power plant.
In parallel with the investigation of the incident, a smooth increase in power is underway at Reftinskaya GRES. At the moment, power units No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6 are connected to the network; start-up operations are underway on the remaining equipment. “Already this morning the station was producing 500 MW of power, which also indicates that the protection system worked reliably. There is a system operator team to supply 3 thousand MW. And this power is planned to be achieved on the morning of August 24,” Pasler said.
The Prime Minister noted that even turning off the power of the Reftinskaya GRES to zero did not affect the energy supply of the Sverdlovsk region. “Not a single consumer felt any consequences. This means that our system is balanced. The power is enough to fully ensure the energy supply of the Sverdlovsk region even in the event of such an incident,” Pasler noted.
Due to the accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant, several regions of Russia were temporarily left without electricity
It should be noted that the Minister of Energy and Housing and Communal Services of the region Nikolay Smirnov, the heads of MES Urals Andrey Melnikov, IDGC of Urals Oleg Moshinsky, the Joint Dispatcher Directorate (UDU) of the Urals Ruslan Izmailov, the Sverdlovsk Regional Dispatch Office Oleg Efimov, the Rostechnadzor Directorate for the Urals Federal District took part in the work of today's headquarters. Dmitry Drog, PJSC Enel Russia Oleg Kosmenyuk.
The accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant occurred on the afternoon of August 22: the capacitor was destroyed with the release and ignition of oil. After this, the protection system disconnected some high-voltage lines coming from the station. No one was injured in the incident. However, as a result, residents of Buryatia, Altai and Trans-Baikal territories, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Omsk regions were left without electricity. The power outage amounted to 1.17 thousand MW. In particular, due to the accident, Tomskneftekhim (part of SIBUR Holding) stopped production, and in two mines in the Kemerovo region there was a temporary shutdown of fans.
In Russia, another large-scale accident occurred in the energy system: due to the destruction of equipment for delivering power to the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant of Enel Russia, several high-voltage power lines in the Urals and Siberia were switched off at once. As a result, some regional power systems were isolated, and a power shortage arose in Siberia. This led to the disconnection of consumers, including such large ones as Tomskneftekhim. At the moment, the accident has been eliminated: after 40 minutes, power engineers restored the frequency in the Unified Energy System of Russia - 50.00 Hz, the Ministry of Energy reports.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant (3.8 GW) of Enel Russia, where an insulator on an open switchgear (a system for discharging generated electricity into the network) 220 kV collapsed, has been eliminated. At 14:52 Moscow time, power engineers completely eliminated its consequences. At the moment, power supply to all household consumers has been restored.
Let us remind you that today at 14:12 Moscow time several high-voltage power lines in the Urals and Siberia automatically switched off, as follows from the summary on the Ministry of Energy website. As a result, according to the ministry, the Tyumen energy system was allocated to isolated operation with excess power, and due to an emergency shutdown of power lines that ensure the flow of electricity to Siberia, the Trans-Baikal, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Khakass, Irkutsk, Buryat and part of the Kuzbass energy system also switched to isolated work with power deficit.
At the same time, deviations from current frequency standards in power systems were recorded, and 342 MW of household consumers were left without power supply. There were no casualties. In addition, due to outages, they stopped large enterprises, in particular, at 14:20 “Tomskneftekhim” of SIBUR stood up. The Kommersant company explained that the production’s protective systems for such situations worked as normal: “There is a technological discharge of hydrocarbon raw materials to the flare system. There were no incidents at the Tomskneftekhim site itself.” According to a company representative, the enterprise is preparing to launch production, and the supply of electricity to Tomskneftekhim has been restored.
This is the second large-scale incident in the Russian power grid complex in Lately: at the end of July there was an accident on power lines connecting Eastern and Western Siberia, which also led to restrictions on energy supplies to consumers (see Kommersant on July 27) At the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant, a major accident occurred under RAO UES of Russia: at the end of 2006 year, a fire destroyed the roof and a 500 MW power unit. The renovation was completed in March 2008, its cost was about 2 billion rubles.
Enel Russia did not immediately comment on the accident.
Tatiana Dyatel, Olga Mordyushenko
Our country. Until now, representatives of the commission created to investigate its causes cannot give a definite answer regarding the causes of this incident.
Their own investigation was carried out not only by departments such as the Ministry of Energy and the federal Rostekhnadzor. Journalists also conducted an investigation into the accident at the Reftinskaya GRES, visiting the site of the tragedy, talking with the management of this station, and also listening to the opinions of independent experts.
Tragedy at the station
The fire, which occurred on August 22 this year at two o'clock in the afternoon, was the result of a splash of molten metal. An accident occurred at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant due to the destruction of an insulator. Such a statement sounded as if there had been no tragedy and life at the station was going on as normal.
Department of Energy version
Most full version the events that happened was information provided by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation. The accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant is considered as the cause of the destruction of the high-voltage line capacitor (220 kV). As a result, oil was released and a section of tires was switched off when it caught fire. The generated power at the station was reduced from the maximum value (2295 MW) to zero.
Consequences of power loss
The accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant led to the immediate activation of automatic protection systems. All high-voltage lines that leave this station have been switched off. The Reftinskaya GRES (the 2016 accident, to be more precise) provoked numerous cascading outages throughout the country.
The power systems of many Russian regions had to switch to work. Ultimately, the accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant left six Siberian regions without full power supply. It took a lot of effort to return the power system to normal operation.
Expert opinion
When discussing what kind of accident occurred at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant, experts agree that this is one of the largest in the post-Soviet space.
They name the coupling capacitor as the main reason for the large-scale upheaval that occurred. This two-meter-long rod, which had insulating ceramic rings, contained molten oil inside.
Experts do not have exact information about whether the capacitor exploded, but it was in it at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant. The work of experts continues, others are being installed possible reasons fires at the station.
The opinion of local residents
Residents of the nearby village of Reftinsky learned from their relatives that an accident had occurred at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant. They saw photos of the damage only in newspapers. When journalists who arrived in these places to conduct their own independent investigation began to ask the inhabitants of this area about the tragedy that had occurred, they all answered without hesitation that an oil condenser had exploded. Such unanimity caused doubts among the press representatives, they decided to go to the scene of the incident.
Location of the accident
The picture that appeared before journalists was depressing. As a result of the release of molten oil over an area of tens of square kilometers, the earth was completely scorched. The scene of the tragedy was clearly visible from the road.
Near the fence, which was strung with barbed wire, the grass was scorched. It was here that the oil that splashed from the condenser burned. Eyewitnesses say that at first a loud explosion was heard, then a crash was heard.
Journalistic investigation
Many local residents observed sparks from the electric arc, as a short circuit occurred on the sections of the wire closest to each other. People say that it seemed as if the whole sky was filled with sparks.
This confirms how serious the accident at Reftinskaya GRES turned out to be. Photos taken immediately after the tragedy confirm the scale of the tragedy that occurred. Journalists conducting their independent investigation were unable to photograph the consequences of the accident.
Representatives of the security service of the Reftinskaya GRES informed the press that this station is a strategic facility, therefore any photo and video filming is prohibited. After intervention in the current situation by the press service of PJSC Enel Russia, the direct owner of this power plant, it was possible to resolve the conflict situation.
After identifying the journalists, the head of the station's security service gave permission to photograph the accident site. It was these shots that were published and attracted the attention of Russian environmentalists. Residents of the village of Reftinsky believe that they were simply lucky. If the protection system at the station had not worked, the consequences of the accident would have been much larger.
In his interview, Oleg Kosmenyuk, who holds the position of deputy general director Enel Russia noted that immediately after receiving information about the accident, he flew to Yekaterinburg. According to his version, a complete destruction of the coupling capacitor occurred on an open switchgear designed for 220 kW.
As a result of this, a short circuit was observed that spread across busbars designed for 220 kW. At the time of the tragedy, six energy units were in full operation.
Thanks to modern automatic systems protection available at this station, after the technological interlock was triggered, it was possible to gradually turn off all power units. Such actions eliminated any possibility of the accident continuing.
Current situation at the station
The system operator issued a request to turn on all eight power units into normal operation. Literally a few days after the tragedy, the sixth unit was restored to operation, then the second unit returned to normal schedule.
By Wednesday, August 24, the station had restored its original operating mode. Thanks to the coordinated work of professional energy workers, we managed to cope with the emergency situation in the shortest possible time.
Professional version
Engineers carefully answer questions from journalists about whether a more serious and powerful explosion could have happened if not for the professionalism of the employees and the station’s automation. They told the press that they are always prepared for any emergency and are working to create a complete system of measures aimed at improving the protection of the station.
Safety first
Particular attention is paid to continuous training of personnel and emergency drills. During such classes, various problem situations are simulated, allowing personnel to improve their practical skills and understand behavior in the event of an emergency situation.
After graduation training sessions The actions of each station employee are necessarily analyzed, all shortcomings are analyzed so that they are not repeated next time.
Experts say that it was thanks to the well-coordinated work of the station’s personnel that they were able to quickly cope with the current emergency situation and prevent human casualties. During the ongoing investigation, journalists found out that in September 2000, an emergency situation had already occurred at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant.
Station employees confirmed this fact and noted that in both cases, the solution adopted to eliminate serious consequences was to land the station in the zero phase, that is, to cut off the power supply.
That is why all training with working personnel, systematically conducted by labor protection specialists, concerns the actions of workers in the event of an emergency in this scenario.
Conclusion
One of the versions of the accident that occurred, considered by various expert commissions, was the abnormally high temperature that established in this region at that time. A direct answer to the existing connection between the exploded capacitor and the abnormal temperature was not identified during the investigation.
Experts who have an idea about the operation of such equipment argue that one of the causes of an emergency may be a hidden defect (equipment defective), as well as a violation of operating rules, poor-quality installation of installations. Experts explain that during installation energy equipment this class mainly attracts third-party organizations.
Due to guarantee period has already ended, it will be difficult to hold them accountable. The experts also note the need for systematic monitoring of the state of the station and the feasibility of timely preventive maintenance.
Professional power engineers do not exclude the possibility of a negative impact on the normal operation of condensers from abnormally high air temperatures. They are convinced that natural conditions could become an additional factor that, together with the human resource, led to an emergency. They explain their position based on the course high school in physics. During heating, the oil expands, which can cause an explosion.
Ecologists have not yet voiced their position on the tragedy, its consequences for wildlife. They continue to analyze the changes observed in the region in order to assess the severity of the accident at the power plant. The investigation into the accident at Reftinskaya GRES continues.
The need to create state district power plants (GRES for short) arose a very long time ago. A huge part of residential and production premises needs electricity every day. It is state district power plants that can almost completely satisfy this need. But sometimes emergencies occur at power plants. There are many reasons, but the main one is equipment wear and tear. It was no exception and brought a lot of problems.
Briefly about Reftinskaya power plant
Reftinskaya state district power plant is the largest in the whole Russian Federation. It is located in the Sverdlovsk region, 2.5 km from the village of Reftinsky.
The power plant capacity is 3800 MW. The main type of fuel is Ekibastuz coal with a calorific value of 16.3 MJ/kg. Fuel oil is used as the starting fuel.
The state district power station was created to supply electricity to industrial areas of the Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Perm and Chelyabinsk regions. Construction of the power plant began in 1963, the first power unit was launched in 1970, and the last in 1980.
History of the power plant
Back in 1963, the future creators of the Reftinsk state regional power plant landed near the city of Asbest. They were driven into such wilds by the desire to find a site ideal for the construction of a power plant. And they got what they wanted: in the same year the first peg was driven into the ground there, marking the beginning of construction.
The Sverdlovsk Regional Committee zealously monitored the construction of the power plant. World experience, the best technical solutions of that time - everything possible was invested in the design of the building itself. March 1967 was marked by the laying of the first cubic meter of concrete in the foundation of the future power plant.
From 1970 to 1980, one after another, after a thorough check, power units were launched. It was then that it became clear to the whole country that this state-owned regional power plant was the most impressive, because its capacity reached a record level of 3800 MW. With such indicators, the power plant satisfies the needs of the entire Ural region.
Equipment of Reftinskaya GRES
The power plant uses the following systems:
- Fuel supply. This is accomplished by delivering coal via railway. Fuel is supplied to the station itself using a bulldozer. Separate containers are allocated for storing fuel oil directly at the GRES warehouse.
- Water supply. On the territory of the power plant there is a pond intended for cooling the systems. In addition, deep water intake is used.
- Hydroash removal. Ash and slag are removed through specially designated pipes to waste disposal sites.
- Water treatment. For this purpose, the station has a desalting plant.
- Monitoring and management system. This is carried out using panels with devices for regulating the operation of equipment. There is one shield for every two blocks.
- Gas cleaning system. To achieve gas purity, electric precipitators are used, a list of which is publicly available.
What do power plant workers remember about 2006?
On the eve of 2007, no one could have predicted that the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant (the accident shocked everyone) would suddenly fail. It was the end of December, the New Year's atmosphere was already in the air, and suddenly there was an emergency. First, the tenth power unit collapsed, in addition, a fire occurred and the roof began to collapse. Then the seventh and eighth blocks fell. And the ninth power unit was generally under repair.
Of course, these incidents significantly reduced the performance of the power plant. And the entire Sverdlovsk energy system was under serious suspicion of unreliability.
Based on the results obtained by the departmental commission, the damage suffered by the power plant was determined, and it amounted to more than 237 million rubles. But no one had yet guessed that the accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant in 2006 was far from the only and not the last case.
August 2016: what did he bring?
A person gets used to everything. That is, even when the power supply suddenly turned off in the settlements closest to the station, people reacted more grumpily than scared: “Another accident at the Reftinskaya GRES - heads will roll...”. The systems of the Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions are quite capable of providing their regions independently, which they did by simply disconnecting from the main energy system.
Given the enormous amount of energy being generated, it is not surprising that there is a surplus. People might not even notice the emergency of the situation. That is why only an ignorant person could be surprised by what was happening, saying something like: “Horror! Reftinskaya GRES, the accident is nonsense, it can’t happen!”
Thanks to the efficiency of the equipment protection system, everything was turned off. This had virtually no effect on the performance of the power plant systems. There were no casualties either.
How did the accident affect the combat readiness of local military units?
According to reliable sources, even the accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant on August 22, 2016 could not somehow disrupt the work of military units. There were power outages, but at the first sign of a possible disconnection from the main power system, all facilities of the Russian Ministry of Defense were connected to backup autonomous sources.
This situation did not present an unsolvable problem. Despite the interruptions (which, by the way, also occurred in the territories of the Altai Republic, Khakassia, Buryatia, etc.), the combat readiness of military units remained unchanged.
Which companies were still affected?
Sibur still suffered some losses. Its member company, Tomskneftekhim, was forced to suspend production; The reason for this was the frequency deviation during the accident at the Reftinskaya State District Power Plant. In other words, there was a voltage drop. Thanks to the prompt response of the protective systems, all equipment was temporarily disabled and therefore remained intact.
Even in such an emergency situation, the Tomskneftekhim employees did not become confused and did not begin to panic. A check was immediately carried out to determine whether there was a threat to the environment and to humans. There were no such threats, and after a short time the company resumed production.
Restoring power supply
As soon as a system accident occurred, Reftinskaya GRES immediately began trying to restore the supply of electricity to household consumers. Lukoil enterprises located in the Urals; Tomskneftekhim; many facilities in the Omsk and Kemerovo regions - all of them were left without a power source. Only a few hours later it was possible to establish electricity for all consumers.
In addition, at about eight o'clock in the evening at Reftinskaya GRES, work began on the launch of power units and the adjustment of systems. That is, from the moment of the accident to almost complete recovery, only a couple of hours passed. You can admire the efficiency of the power plant workers!
Who else could be left without food?
According to the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, some high-voltage lines were switched off. Among them are “Tyumen-Nelym”, “Krotovo-Tatarka” and others. Moreover, the second line from those listed was automatically restarted unsuccessfully.
There are a lot of very important strategic objects on the territory of Siberia. The same military units, for example. Leaving them and production without electricity means exposing the country to a threat both in terms of producing the necessary products and in terms of combat capability.
Due to a short circuit that occurred, the electrical networks (an accident that Reftinskaya GRES could not prevent) were unable to return to working condition. Although most of the high-voltage lines have been restored, there are also those that have failed.
Is there a risk of re-ignition?
Undoubtedly, this question interests many, especially the employees of the state regional power plant in the Sverdlovsk region. But when analyzing already observed fires and roof collapses, the following conclusion can be drawn: the probability of a repeated accident is very high. The equipment at the station has not been changed for a long time. Yes, in Soviet times these were the best developments, but since then a lot has gone away, the technologies of the last century have been replaced by more modern ones. It's not just the ideas for new equipment themselves. If the budget does not allow timely diagnostics and repairs of machines and installations, as well as the replacement of the same wiring, then as a result, production may decline.
It must be taken into account that the power units are already 30-40 years old. They have not been replaced or at least major renovation. It is these factors that can easily prove the need to maintain security systems in absolute order. That is, if not modernization, then at least a quick response to an emergency. After all, even with the next collapse of the roof, there will still be several power units with which it will be possible to generate electricity.
The Reftinskaya GRES, which had an accident in 2016, has not yet really recovered from the last emergency in 2006. Then the consequences were much more severe. And it cost more - almost two billion rubles - to restore the station.
The next such fire could shut down the power plant for a long time, or even forever.
If we take into account that this power plant, even in this condition, can still provide several areas with excess, it will become clear how justified the investment in modernizing the plant is. It is necessary to do everything possible so that the motto of this organization becomes the phrase: “Reftinskaya GRES - an accident is excluded!” After all, if there is no energy supply, then there will be a colossal disruption throughout the country: in production, in science, and in other areas.
