The RusHydro Group Announces 2010 Preliminary Production Results

The production results are in line with Company's business plan for 2010. The output excluding own needs amounted to 70,677 million kWh. Principal factors that contributed to the decrease in production by the Group's power plants in 2010 included:
 -  Decreased production at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP due to the 2009 accident;
 -  Low water inflow that affected the HPPs of the Volga-Kama Cascade during 2010;
 -  Lower production by the Irganayskaya HPP, where work stopped in September 2010 due to a fire.
Excluding the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, the total production for the Company's HPPs and its SDCs in 2010 stood at 60,010 mln kWh - a 6% drop compared to 2009.
JSC RusHydro's facilities are located in territories with different hydrological regimes.
Far Eastern and Siberian rivers are affected both by spring flooding - the volume of which is determined by total snow accumulation and the melting pattern - and flooding caused by extended summer rainfall, which, in terms of volume, is comparable to spring flooding.
In 2010, a favorable hydrological environment existed in Siberia. During the year, water inflow to the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP and Novosibirskaya HPP reservoirs significantly exceeded long-term, average annual volumes. Total electricity production in the Region for the year was 14,153 mln kWh.
The favorable hydrological environment in the Far East coincided with increased water volumes in the reservoirs that had accumulated by the end of 2009.
To provide free capacity for the water reservoirs of the Zeyskaya and Bureiskaya HPPs, which are required to absorb the seasonal water surge during spring and summer rain seasons, and to ensure water facility safety, a joint effort was undertaken with the Federal Agency for Water Resources (Rosvodresursy) and the System Operator to increase production at these two HPPs during the winter period.
As a result, production by JSC RusHydro and its SDCs in the Far East increased by 9% in 2010 compared with 2009. Total production in this Region equaled 13,849 mln kWh.
The rivers of the Central Region of the European part of Russia are characterized by high spring water levels and long periods of low water levels, during which water reserves that were accumulated during the high water period are used. Short-term flooding due to rain may sometimes occur during the low water period.
During 2010, an unfavorable hydrological environment existed in the European part of Russia. Due to abnormally hot weather in Q3 and Q4, water inflows were 30% below long-term average levels. Despite measures undertaken to economize water resources, the amount of water in reservoirs was lower than the long-term average by 26%, which is equivalent to a loss of 2.2-2.7 bln kWh in production.
In sum, JSC RusHydro's HPPs that are located in the Central Region of the European part of Russia have produced 35,816 mln kWh in 2010 - 13% below 2009 levels.
The North Caucasus rivers are filled primarily via glacial melting and a torrential rain period. Such diversity compensates for unfavorable hydrological conditions that may develop in various areas.
The hydrological environment in the North Caucasus Region and southern Russia during all of 2010 were characterized by increased inflow compared to annual averages, as a result, despite the halt in production at the Irganayskaya HPP, production by JSC RusHydro's HPPs in the Region has increased 4% compared with the previous year. It stood at 8,178 mln kWh for 2010.