Electricity
consumption in Russia is increasing with each passing year, which is a good
indicator of the country’s overall economic growth, Russian Minister of Energy
Sergey Tsivilev said at the session ‘New Energy of the Far East’ as part of the
Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) 2024. The minister also noted that energy
consumption in the Far East is growing at a much faster pace than the Russian
average – 3.9% versus 1.5% in other regions.
Sergey Tsivilev
said that in 2021, Russia broke the 1992 record for electricity consumption of
156 gigawatts and that this growth has continued in subsequent years. He also
noted that the capacity of the unified energy system that was created in Soviet
times is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the economy. To solve this
problem, the Russian president has set the goal of creating an Energy Strategy
for Russia’s Development until 2050, as well as an Energy Strategy for the Far
East for the same period. “We need to modernize existing generating facilities and
solve the problem of the high level of wear and tear at grid facilities,” he
said.
The
minister said that when building generating capacities in the current
realities, it is customary to start with the CAPEX of a project, which in
theory does not always reflect the actual economic situation. He said a more
objective approach would be to analyse the cost of a kilowatt-hour throughout
the entire lifecycle of a specific generating system. Power facilities also
need to be provided with resources throughout their operation so that over time
they do not have to be switched from one type of primary resource to another.
“Essentially, these two parameters help us take decisions for to develop
generation as efficiently as possible,” he said.
Speaking
about prospects for the future, Sergey Tsivilev said there is stable long-term
demand for Russian electricity in China, which borders the regions of the Far
East. “There is demand in China. We can theoretically supply more there and
earn money from this,” he said.
He said
that generation needs to be developed in all segments – from coal to nuclear.
“We must develop coal generation in the Far East and Siberia, because we have
large coal reserves that need to be utilized. Of course, we must also develop
hydropower, particularly given the floods in the Primorsky Territory and Amur
Region,” he said.
Other important
goals include the overall integration of the unified energy systems of Siberia
and the Far East, an increase in the flow between them, and the modernization
of generating facilities.
In
conclusion, Sergey Tsivilev noted that the Russian president has said the
country’s economy needs to transition to a ‘supply model’, which requires
energy infrastructure to be developed at an accelerated pace for the further
implementation of various business projects.
Source:
Russian Ministry of
Energy
