In 2004, the Unified Energy System operated steadily and without systemic failures. Energy companies fulfilled their obligations under contracts for electricity supply to domestic consumers and counterparties in the former Soviet Republics and beyond.

Since 2001, the Unified Energy System of Russia operated 100% of calendar time at the standard AC frequency. The efforts to improve the frequency control quality allowed the AC frequency in the energy pool of Russia, the CIS and Baltics to be maintained throughout 2004 within the standard established by the West European energy pool, UCTE (50.00±0.05 Hz).

The peak load on the power plants in the Russian Federation was on 23 December 2004, with the AC frequency of 50.02 Hz, the outdoor temperature of -12.9^oC (0.1^oC higher than the long-term average temperature and 8.9^oC lower than in 2003). The peak load was 141.6 million kWh, up 2.2% on 2003.

In 2004, the UES of Russia worked parallel with the energy systems of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Ukraine, and Estonia. The energy systems of the Central Asia—Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan—operated parallel with the UES of Russia via Kazakhstan's energy system. Finland's energy system, which is part of the Nordic countries' energy pool, NORDEL, worked in parallel with the UES of Russia via the Vyborg conversion plant. Electricity from Russia's power grid was supplied to some areas of Norway and China.

The superior body of dispatching management of the UES of Russia is OAO "System Operator-Central Dispatch Administration of the Unified Energy System", together with the Integrated Dispatch Administrations (IDAs) and Regional Dispatch Administrations (RDAs) performing the following functions:

	forecasting and ensuring a balance between electricity generation and consumption;
	day-to-day control of operational processes;
	use of automated control of normal and emergency operations;
	planning and taking action to ensure the required reserve of capacity for loading and deloading the power plants;
	prevention and liquidation of emergencies in energy systems and the entire UES.

Besides, in 2004, OAO "UES SO-CDA" was involved in addressing the strategic goals of long-term optimization of operations, taking into account the requirements of other industries:

	forecasting of consumption of capacity and electricity;
	development of balances of capacity and electricity;
	determination of the transfer capability of the power grid of the UES of Russia;
	development of mechanisms and operating schedules to be used during special periods of the year (autumn-winter peak load, flood period, etc.), and change of the existing schedules in connection with commissioning of new facilities and enlargement of the number of energy systems operating in parallel;
	resolution of the entire range of issues relating to enhancing the reliability of power supply and electricity quality, implementation and improvement of dispatching techniques and automated systems for controlling the regular and emergency operation.

As provided by the international treaties, OAO "UES SO-CDA" is responsible for organizing and coordinating parallel operation of the UES of Russia and the energy systems of other countries. In 2004, an inspection was carried out to check the feasibility of using the 330-KV transmission lines linking the IES of Ukraine and the IES of Belarus—the line between the Chernigov and Gomel, and the line from the Chernobyl NPP and Mozyr. This work was undertaken within the framework of activities of the Commission for operational and technological coordination of parallel work of the CIS and Baltics' energy systems and was intended to increase reliability of parallel operation of the UES of Russia and the energy systems in the CIS countries and the Baltics. The launch of these transmission lines will increase efficiency of the energy systems in the European part of the UES of Russia interconnected with the energy systems of Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic Republics, and ensure reliable power supply in the Kaliningrad Region after Lithuania's Ignalina NPP is shut down.