RusHydro: More Than Dams

We finally get a meeting between Putin and Viktor Khmarin, Chairman of the Management Board and General Director of Public Joint Stock Company RusHydro that allows us to learn more about the nature of Russia’s energy producers. Do note that the corporation is a public utility of which 2/3s is owned by the state. Again, the bulk of the conversation occurs when the cameras are off, so we only get a general recap:

Vladimir Putin: Viktor Viktorovich, RusHydro provides 16 percent of the country's total energy capacity. This is a large volume. It is one of the largest in the world for its profile.

How do you assess the situation in the company and the results of your work?

Vladimir Khmarin: At the moment, RusHydro is by far the largest power generator in the country.

If we talk about the types of generation, we have all types of generation in the holding, except for nuclear power. In other words, we have geothermal, solar, wind, and, of course, thermal generation – both gas and coal. We are one of the largest heat generators in the country.

At the moment, RusHydro Holding works not only with generators – we are still quite widely represented as a project complex, widely represented in the world, our institutes are about 100 years old. Currently, RusHydro is represented in 13 countries around the world in the field of consulting, hydraulic engineering design, mining, hydropower and other areas.

In terms of financial results, despite a difficult economic year, we managed to increase the company's revenue by 20 percent, to more than $ 560 billion. We increased our EBITDA and net profit.

RusHydro is still one of the largest taxpayers in the country, amounting to about 105 billion rubles. We also build up our potential here every year.

Vladimir Putin: Excellent. And the investment?

Vladimir Khmarin: Investments in 2023 alone are about 223 billion rubles. We have completed quite serious projects, such as the first Pevek – Bilibino line in Chukotka, almost 500 kilometers of the 110th line [110 kV] in difficult climatic conditions. We have completed one of the units of Vladivostok CHPP-2. We have completed Krasnogorsk small HPP-1, which is 25 megawatts, a very beautiful large station in Karachay-Cherkessia.

If we talk about investment plans, by 2028 it is more than 800 billion rubles, of which more than 70 percent will be spent on the territory of the Far East. We plan to introduce about 2.5 GW of electric capacity, and we plan to build more than 500 kilometers of power transmission lines.

At the moment, we are designing two hydroelectric power stations in the Far East.

Vladimir Putin: And where?

V. Khmarin: This is in the Amur region on the Amur tributaries – Selemdzhinskaya and Nizhne-Zeyskaya.

Vladimir Putin: As in Krasnoyarsk, are you settling in slowly?

Vladimir Khmarin: Yes. Since the new year, we have closed accepting vacancies on the territory of Moscow, and all new employees who are recruited by RusHydro are recruited only in Krasnoyarsk.

Vladimir Putin: Good. Have you established normal business relations with the local authorities?

Vladimir Khmarin: Yes. Absolutely beautiful city, excellent business climate in Krasnoyarsk. [My Emphasis]

RusHydro’s headquarters were moved closer to the geographical center of its operations, from the Moscow region to Krasnoyarsk. This article in English provides details of the Amur projects which are to provide flood control and power generation with a critical eye on mitigating environmental impacts. According to its website, every 8Kwh of electricity in Russia is produced by RusHydro. The photo exhibition at its website of its many projects is very impressive, and there’s even an English version.

As mentioned, RusHydro also builds transmission networks. It also produces and distributes heat—30+ Million GCals annually—while 80% of its electrical generation comes from green sources—solar, wind, geothermal—along with hydro. It would be interesting to know how well Russia’s major power generators integrate with each other. What’s important is Russia’s energy sector isn’t standing still at all and is aggressively expanding power generation and distribution since that’s what’s required to fuel Russia’s development plans for its vast lands beyond the Urals.

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