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Environmental Policy

Environmental Policy

Being one of Russia's largest managing distribution grid companies, “IDGC of Urals”, JSC has been committed to environmental safety of its regional operations within the area of responsibility of “IDGC of Urals”, JSC.

Top priority objectives of “IDGC of Urals”, JSC include the security of electricity supplies to the customers provided the requirements to efficient performance, safety, reliability and environmental consciousness have been met.

Overhead transmission lines (OTL) and transformer substations are low-pollution facilities in environmental terms. As regards specific impact of transmission and distribution grids on environment, they can be related to the mild-impact production facilities. Power grids are no source of air or inland water bodies pollution. Soil can be contaminated during construction only or partially during maintenance.

As a consequence, a large amount of managerial and hands-on efforts were put into reduction of the man-caused stress on the environment. An indirect consequence is displayed by the environmental charges which have a stable downward trend despite the fact that the government tends to impose an ever increasing scale-up factor with each consecutive year.

Application of Advanced Technologies and Solutions in Electric Power Transmission and Distribution

Improvements to the power transmission and distribution technologies have been one of the main directions of RAO UES environmental policy. One of the key implementing strategies is the technological upgrade of the main power grid operator assets. The main policies of “IDGC of Urals”, JSC are as follows:

  • Gradual phasing-out of oil-filled equipment to be replaced with gas-insulated and vacuum equipment assuring the environment-friendly operation
  • Installing a number of oil receivers at transformer substations using state-of-the-art technologies (the polymer-coated oil receivers) to minimize costs incurred by utilization of greased crushed stone waste and compliance of grid facilities to current environment protection requirements
  • Using all-dielectric self-supporting cables which allow harmful impact of business operations on the environment to be reduced by cutting the width of the narrow clearings in forests before the OTL construction and during its operation.

Throughout the course of operation, all regional distribution grid companies as part of “IDGC of Urals”, JSC have attained a sufficient environmental performance by monitoring their impact upon environment and following company's environment protection policies and target environmental indicators.

Environmental support has been maintained across all construction and design facilities involving the RDGC's within the “IDGC of Urals”, JSC framework. Separate peculiarities of work execution during construction of electric power lines, transformer substations and other energy objects in design documentation are consolidated within a separate environmental book.

All distribution grid companies perform following regular activities aimed at prevention of potential environmental implications:

  • Implementing environmental training, awareness programs, and information sharing so that every employee can raise their environmental awareness
  • Improving legal framework of environmental protection
  • Using well verified control instruments, instrumented protective systems, data gathering, processing and transmission devices
  • Using adopted (established) methods and mechanisms of control over the measured harmful environmental effects parameters.

All RDGC affiliates have developed and approved the following documentation package with the Departments of Technological and Environmental Supervision of the Russian Federal Service for Ecological, Technical and Atomic Supervision (Rostechnadzor):

  • Draft maximum permissible emissions specifications. One month before the permit for air pollutant emissions expires, the technical reports will be submitted on an annual basis to the Department of Technological and Environmental Supervision of Rostechnadzor to extend the permit validity for another year
  • Draft specifications for waste generation and disposal limits. One month before the permit for waste disposal expires, the technical reports will be submitted on an annual basis to the Department of Technological and Environmental Supervision of Rostechnadzor to extend the limits validity for another year.