The situation in the Siberian Federal District following the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Station was the first subject on the agenda at a meeting on the district’s social and economic development that Dmitry Medvedev held in Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia.
The irreplaceable loss of human lives is the accident’s most tragic result, the President said. Mr Medvedev expressed once more his condolences to the families of those killed and missing, and said that the priority now is to give them the help they need.
Whatever the accident’s causes, it is a tragic reminder of the critical importance of the systems controlling the safety and general state of Russian industry’s infrastructure. In a number of cases this infrastructure is no longer effective and requires urgent modernisation.
The President also noted the need to step up oversight of the technical state of power stations and energy systems. The Russian Technical Supervision Agency and the Ministry of Energy have already received instructions to carry out a review of technical equipment at all of Russia’s hydroelectric stations.
The accident has also brought to the fore issues of workplace discipline and the professional level of personnel – areas in which there are shortcomings to work on.
Looking at the current priority tasks, the President said it is important to ensure that there is no unjustified rise in electricity price. The Russian Federation Government has already received instructions on this issue, Mr Medvedev said.