Operation of the UES of Russia

In 2007, the Unified Energy System of Russia operated stably at the frequency prescribed in the state standard, GOST. During the reporting period, the electrical current frequency in the energy pool of Russia, CIS countries and the Baltic Republics was maintained 100 percent of time within the tolerance range provided by the Standard of RAO "UES of Russia" Rules for Preventing and Eliminating Disruptions in Normal Operation of the Electrical Component in the Energy Systems.

The annual peak load for the UES power plants was recorded on 25 December 2007, with the AC frequency of 50.02 Hz and the outdoor temperature of -11.3°C (which was 1.8°C above the climate normal and 2.5°C lower than in 2006). The peak load reached 144,200 MW, down 1.5 percent over the 2006 figure.

At end-2007, the UES of Russia operated in parallel with the energy systems of Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Moldova and Mongolia. The energy systems of the Central Asia—Uzbekistan, Kyrghyzstan, and Tajikistan—operated in parallel with the UES of Russia through the energy system of Kazakhstan.

Finland's electricity system, which is part of NORDEL, the Nordic countries' energy pool, operated in an interconnected mode with the UES of Russia via the Vyborg conversion plant. Electricity from Russia's power grid was also supplied to selected areas of Norway and China.

The UES of Russia is operated by OAO "System Operator of the Unified Energy system", which is responsible for such vital functions as:

• ensuring compliance with the reliability parameters set for the operation of the UES of Russia and electricity quality;
• controlling operational modes of energy facilities in accordance with the wholesale market rules approved by the Russian Government;
• coordinating the process of putting power networks and electricity and heat generation facilities under repair or shutting them down, as well as bringing them back on line after repair or shutdown;
• giving binding dispatching orders and instructions to electricity industry participants and load controlled electricity consumers in the performance of the system operator's functions;
• developing optimal daily schedules for the operation of power plants and grids within the UES of Russia;
• regulating the electrical current frequency, supporting the operation of automated frequency control systems, and the automated system control and protection equipment;
• organizing and controlling parallel operation modes of the UES of Russia and other countries' energy systems;
• participation in producing and providing technical requirements relating to connection of industry participants to the Unified (All-Russia) Electricity Grid and local distribution grids to ensure their operation in the UES of Russia, as well as some other functions.

In 2007, in order to ensure reliable operation of the energy systems, OAO "SO UES" made computations using cutting-edge techniques in respect of electrical modes of operation, static and dynamic stability, short-circuit currents, and determined the settings for protective relaying equipment, automated protection and emergency control systems.

During the year, projects were carried out to modernize the automated systems for preventing instability in the Sochi and South-Western energy districts of OAO "Kubanenergo" and to optimize the operational areas of some branches of OAO "SO UES".

Jointly with OAO "FGC UES", System Operator produced and approved the Target Model for command transmission and arrangement of telecommunication channels, transmission of telemetry data among dispatching centers and network control centers of the power grid entities, and substations.

Commissions of the Directorate for State Energy Supervision, interregional and regional divisions of the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological, and Nuclear Oversight of Russia carried out state certification of persons engaged in operations relating to the dispatching control in the electricity industry.

OAO "SO UES" organized all-Russia trainings for the RDA dispatching personnel and system-wide and cross-system emergency response drills and trainings with the participation of Belarus and the Baltic Republics' dispatching personnel.