RusHydro to Chair Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership

RusHydro has chosen as the theme of the year “Innovations – a shortcut to a sustainable world”. R&D and innovations are of high priority for the Company. RusHydro is actively developing its R&D base. One of innovations centers is being organized on basis of joint venture with Voith Hydro for hydro-turbines manufacturing. Initiation of large-scale international innovations projects under the aegis of the GSEP is a priority task for RusHydro in its capacity of the Partnership chair.

RusHydro is the only Russian member of GSEP. «For Russian utilities industry in general and for RusHydro in particular this is a landmark event. We are GSEP members since 2008 and this year we got unique opportunity to chair the organization. We will do our best to launch projects advancing the theme of the year. I’m confident that these projects will enable us to leverage cooperation with international majors in the field of combined generation and renewables for isolated territories in the Russian Far East in order to reduce consumption of diesel fuel. There are villages dependent on diesel generators for electricity. RusHydro is already implementing a program of replacing diesel generators with combined wind-diesel units, thus reducing consumption of diesel fuel, increasing the share of renewable energy and often reducing tariff, since it is very high in such areas», said RusHydro CEO Evgeny Dod.

As part of Chairmanship mandate RusHydro will convene sessions of project, political and management committees of the Partnership in Russia. The key event of the year will be the GSEP summit in Moscow scheduled for early June 2014, to feature the executives of the GSEP member companies.

As precursor to RusHydro chairmanship in GSEP the Partnership organized, with the help of RusHydro, a seminar devoted to the theme “Large Hydropower on the Way to Sustainable Development” in April this year. The event, held in the Russian city of Togliatti, featured more than 40 experts representing leading utility companies from all over the world.