Russia's Ulyanovsk Region Hit by Energy Crisis

BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union - Political ( July 23, 2001 )

Text of report by Radio Russia on 23 July

[Presenter] Ulyanovsk Region is facing an energy crisis. Our special correspondent Gennadiy Demochkin has the details.

[Correspondent] All heat and power stations in Ulyanovsk were stopped today. This means that the region has stopped producing electricity and will cover its needs at the expense of purchases from the Federal Energy Market [FOREM].

The residents of Ulyanovsk Region have felt some symptoms of the energy crisis since last winter. However, they stayed without hot water for the whole summer for the first time in recent years.

The current crisis has been caused by old debts to energy and gas suppliers, in particular a R100m debt for natural gas. On 10 July Gazprom stopped supplying natural gas to Ulyanovskenergo [regional energy company]. Ulyanovskenergo, in its turn, had to use its fuel reserves. The emergency stock of fuel oil was spent in two weeks.

As a result of the stoppage of heat and power stations, steam is not being supplied to Ulyanovsk's biggest enterprises, which make an essential contribution to the regional and city budgets. The car factory and the plants producing spare parts for cars and reinforced concrete items stopped their work today, as well as some other factories.

The situation with the preparation for winter is also described as critical. People in high places are speaking quite seriously about the possibility of a repetition of the "Maritime phenomenon" [the mass blackouts and heating breakdowns in Far Eastern Maritime Territory of last winter, with their serious political repercussions]. The governor [of Ulyanovsk Region], Vladimir Shamanov, has asked [Russian] Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov for urgent financial help.

(C) 2001 BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union - Political.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 24, 2001