Fatal Explosion Shuts Russia's Largest Hydro Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Russia's largest hydroelectric power plant has been shut down following an explosion that killed 11 workers and has left at least 64 others still unaccounted. The explosion at the Sayano-Shushinskaya power station on the Yenisei River in southern Siberia happened when an oil-filled transformer exploded during repair work. The blast destroyed the walls and ceiling of the turbine room, causing it to flood. Ten other workers were reported injured, but reports claim that the dam itself was not damaged.

Three turbines were completely destroyed, while three others were damaged. Plant owner RusHydro (Moscow, Russia) stated that a water surge, leading to an unexpected change in pressure, was the most likely cause for triggering the explosion. There is little hope that the missing workers will be found alive.

"Finding anyone alive in the flood zone is unlikely, but the search continues," a spokesperson for RusHydro told reporters.

With a power generation capacity of 6,400 megawatts (MW), the Sayano-Shushinskaya hydropower station is the fourth largest in the world, housing 10 hydro turbines, each with a capacity of 640 MW. The facility's average annual production is 23,500 gigawatt-hours, and much of the produced power is used by several major aluminium plants, including the Khakassia and Sayanogorsk aluminium plants, owned by United Company Rusal (Moscow).

Speaking to Russia's Itar-Tass news agency, Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said: "I believe that it will take years, not months, to repair three of the 10 units. There is no threat to villages downstream from the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. There is no threat of damage to the dam."

The Sayano-Shushinskaya plant represents 25% of RusHydro's total generation capacity of 25.3 gigawatts, and according to Vasily Zubakin, acting chief executive of RusHydro, the downtime and repair costs will cost the company "billions of roubles." Even a partial restart will take months, the company advised.

Rusal has reported that the Sayanogorsk smelters are running as normal, following a switch to power supplies from neighbouring regions. The company has also held emergency talks following the accident and said that cuts in aluminium production may be considered in order to allow more electricity to be stored for use by the cities in autumn and winter.

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