President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Khmarin, good afternoon.
Let us begin with the company’s performance in 2022.
RusHydro is the largest hydroelectricity company in Russia.
Head of RusHydro Viktor Khmarin: Yes, it is.
Mr President,
Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to report on RusHydro performance in 2022.
Today, RusHydro is the leader in power generation using renewable energy sources. We generate electricity from almost any source, except nuclear. These include hydro, solar, wind and geothermal sources.
The installed capacity of RusHydro is about 38 GW. We are the largest power generation company by capacity, with 85 percent of our capacity coming from low-carbon generation.
The new RusHydro strategy until 2035 is guided by low-carbon generation, too. In 2022, electricity generation was at 135 billion kWh, which is about 13 percent of generation in Russia.
As for financial indicators, we are planning revenue of about 480 billion rubles. EBITDA remains at a fairly high level: more than 90 billion.
RusHydro is one of the largest taxpayers in Russia. The 2022 tax payments to budgets of all levels accounted for more than 90 billion rubles. Investments are about 120 billion, and the total RusHydro investment programme until 2027 will be more than 650 billion rubles.
The Far East is one of our top priorities. Historically, RusHydro has been represented in the Far East by electrical power generation, grids and retail electricity companies. We pay a great deal of attention to the energy sector development in the regions of the Far East. Thus far, we have begun modernisation and construction of six thermal generation facilities with a total capacity of over 2 GW in Vladivostok, Artyom, Partizansk, Khabarovsk and in Yakutia.
RusHydro is engaged in replacing diesel generation in the Far North, in remote areas which cannot be connected to the centralised electricity supply due to logistics problems. We install and modernise old, inefficient diesel stations and replace them with hybrid ones with modern diesel power units, in some places with wind and solar power stations, with energy accumulation systems and control systems which help to significantly save the fuel.
We rank second in the country in terms of the length of electric power lines, which we are developing. Over 2,200 kilometres of power lines with the capacity of 35 kV to 220 kV are being constructed or renovated.
A programme for modernisation of electricity mains in the Primorye Territory has been developed with total funding of over 15 billion rubles. A similar programme is being implemented in the Sakhalin Region, a programme for sustainable operation of integrated power grid, worth almost 40 billion rubles.
The year 2022 was quite productive in terms of hydropower construction projects. We launched the fourth hydroelectric set at the Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP and have almost completed the construction of two small Krasnogorskaya HPPs with a capacity of around 50 MW. We are currently engaged in the construction of five small HPPs with a total capacity of 130 MW in the Caucasus.
We are also continuing the comprehensive modernisation of master equipment at hydroelectric power plants; by 2027, we plan to replace units with a total capacity of 2,700 MW. This is a fairly significant output.
The company is also engaged in the development of human capital. Our holding employs 69,000 people. The average monthly salary is currently 110,000 rubles. We offer an adequate benefits package that includes medical services, improving living conditions, support for young families and professional education. Our holding has a corporate university which offers a large number of courses.
RusHydro has quite a large charity programme: we help about 300 organisations, such as sports associations, kindergartens, schools and orphanages.
Vladimir Putin: How do you help? You are building something? Or what?
Viktor Khmarin: Sometimes we help financially. Sometimes we build, for example, playgrounds or eco-trails in certain places, in the regions. We take care of the Amur tigers – our programme includes these efforts as well.
Vladimir Putin: We once agreed that you would gradually – it is clear that this is not a quick process, but still – you would move your headquarters to the region where your production is based: Eastern Siberia, the Far East.
Viktor Khmarin: Exactly.
RusHydro holding can be found everywhere across the country, from the Caucasus to Kamchatka. Of course, back then, Krasnoyarsk was chosen as the headquarters for the RusHydro executive management and nine affiliates, considering the time zones and equidistance.
We have purchased a building in Krasnoyarsk, which is now under renovation, and plan to move there from Moscow. This will mean about 1,500 jobs.
Vladimir Putin: Are people from Moscow ready to move there, or will you recruit the bulk of workers locally, in Krasnoyarsk? After all, these should be high-level specialists with narrow expertise.
Viktor Khmarin: Yes. Unfortunately, we cannot recruit such a number of specialists in Krasnoyarsk. We will recruit some specialists locally, but we are going to relocate the main staff from Moscow directly with their families. In order to do this, we have developed a relocation programme, with certain packages and a lump sum payment. We provide apartments for employees as part of the relocation package.
You know, in general, the team is still quite positive about this process, though Krasnoyarsk, of course, is far away.
Vladimir Putin: From Moscow.
Viktor Khmarin: Yes, it is far from Moscow.
Vladimir Putin: I see. But, as you said, it will be the centre of all your production interests and sites.
Viktor Khmarin: Yes, that’s right.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
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