RusHydro reports 27% increase in hydropower generation in Q4 of fiscal 2012

Russian power generation company RusHydro has reported a 26.7% increase in electricity generation from its hydropower plants in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to the corresponding quarter in 2011.

For the full year of 2012, RusHydro witnessed a 5.4% growth in electricity generation from hydro-electric sources.

The company and its subsidiaries generated 31,255GWh of electricity from hydro and thermal plants in the fourth quarter ending December 2012, demonstrating an increase of 16.7% over the previous year.

Total electricity generation for the full year touched 112,697GWh, an increase of 5% from 2011.

Increase in production was attributed primarily to the heaviest rainfall flood in Volga-Kama cascade.

The company has also initiated commercial operations of the first three hydro-units of the Boguchanskaya hydropower plant in December 2012.

RusHydro’s Far East Generation Company expanded generation volumes in the first half of the year due to growth in electricity consumption.

Electricity generation from the Far East totalled 14,157GWh in 2012, a 12.8% rise from 12,548GWh in 2011.

However, its Zagorskaya pumped storage facility produced lesser electricity for 2012 due to technical constraints related to the construction work at plant No. 2.

The other factors that negatively impacted the production in 2012 were low water inflows to hydropower plants of the North Caucus and major reservoirs of Siberia.