Power Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP- the largest in Russia. She is also the sixth largest in the world. The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is located in Khakassia, on the Yenisei River, not far from Sayanogorsk.

Composition of station structures

The main object of the station is an arched gravity dam made of concrete, which has a height of 245 meters and a length of 1066 meters. The width of the dam at the base is 110 meters, and at the crest 25 meters. The dam can be divided into four parts. The left-bank and right-bank blind parts are 246 m and 298 m long, respectively, the drainage part is 190 meters long, and the station part is 332 meters long.

Adjacent to the dam is the hydroelectric power station building near the dam.

Tourism

The station itself and its turbine hall are interesting as tourist sites. The power plant also has its own museum. Since the site is sensitive, it can only be visited through regional tour operators.

The area where the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is located (the map is located below) is a place that has gained popularity among tourists. Previously, there was even a special observation deck from which one could best see the station. Now in this place, next to the dam, a memorial dedicated to the builders of the hydroelectric power station has been erected. On the banks of the Yenisei rises the five-domed peak Borus, which is considered a national shrine among the Khakassians, as is the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. The map of Khakassia allows you to better find out where these places are located.

The observation deck on the left bank allows you to see a white rock two hundred meters high. It represents part of the Kibik-Kordon marble deposit, which occupies several kilometers of the Yenisei bank. One of the parts of the road leading from Sayanogorsk to Cheryomushki lies directly along the marble deposit. Its construction was hampered by difficult geological conditions and rocky spurs, which made its construction one of the most expensive in the world.

Construction

The final decision to begin construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was made in 1962. Construction began in 1968. In 1975, during the construction of a hydroelectric power station, the bed of the Yenisei River was blocked, and already in 1978, with the launch of the first hydraulic unit, the station produced its first current. From 1979 to 1985, nine more hydraulic units were launched successively. In 1988, construction of the station was largely completed. In 2005, work began on the construction of a coastal spillway, which should increase the reliability of the station. In 2011, the spillway was put into operation.

Operation

In 2006, serious deficiencies were discovered in the plant's turbine room and drainage well. In 2007 scheduled inspection revealed significant wear of the booms, which were 20 years old. The design of the hydraulic units with which the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was equipped turned out to be not very successful, prone to increased formation of cracks. Photos published after the accident made it possible to judge the extent of their destruction.

A large program of modernization and technical re-equipment of the station was developed, the implementation of which began, but the accident at the power plant made adjustments to the plans of the builders.

Accident

The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, the accident at which occurred on August 17, 2009, caused great destruction.

In the morning in August 2009, an accident occurred at the hydroelectric power station. The second hydraulic unit was destroyed, and the turbine room was flooded with a large amount of water. The 7th and 9th hydraulic units were severely damaged, the third, fourth and fifth hydraulic units were covered with debris. This led to the destruction of the turbine hall from which the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was controlled. The accident resulted in the death of 75 people.

The tragedy was thoroughly investigated. The investigation report was published in October 2009.

Recovery

New hydraulic units to replace the damaged ones were ordered to the Power Machines enterprise. Already in 2010, units No. 6, No. 5, No. 4 and No. 3 were in operation, which made it possible to increase the power of the station to 2560 MW - 40% of the nominal one. In parallel, work was carried out to dismantle unit No. 2 and construct a coastal spillway, which ended successfully hydraulic tests. The station generated 10 billion kWh of electricity.

Thus, the first stage of reconstruction was completed, as a result of which four hydraulic units of the station, which suffered the least damage, were put into operation.

In 2011, the second stage of reconstruction began. The construction of the second stage of the spillway was completed, and by the end of the year the entire spillway complex was put into operation.

In addition, a new hydraulic unit (No. 1) was put into operation.

Electricity generation in 2011 amounted to more than 18 billion kWh.
In 2012, three new hydroelectric units were launched: No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, after which the capacity of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP amounted to 3840 MW.

In 2013, three new hydraulic units were launched: No. 10, No. 6, No. 5, which made it possible to increase the station’s capacity to 4,480 MW.

In 2013, the station produced more than 24 billion kWh.

In 2014, the third stage of station reconstruction began. As part of its implementation, in 2014, hydraulic unit No. 4 produced current.

At the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, a complete re-equipment was carried out with new hydraulic units of OJSC Power Machines, which have the best parameters and meet stringent safety and reliability requirements. The capacity of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station became equal to the nominal - 6400 MW. The maximum efficiency of the new hydraulic turbines reached 96.6%, and the maximum service life of the machines was increased to 40 years. Now the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, the photos of which immediately after the accident and today are strikingly different, is operating at full capacity.

It would seem that the perpetrators have been identified and brought to justice. However, there is still an opinion that the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was planned.

Multiple factor

As a rule, any man-made disaster consists of little things in which the human factor is involved, and it doesn’t matter if it’s criminal connivance or basic negligence. The accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP (SSHHPP), which occurred on the morning of August 17, 2009, was no exception. Due to the release of thousands of cubic meters of water and subsequent destruction, 75 people died and another 13 were injured.

The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was officially put into operation in 2000: the corresponding document was signed by Anatoly Chubais. The investigation noted that the head of RAO UES of Russia approved the Act of the Central Commission on the acceptance into operation of the SSHHPP hydropower complex “without a comprehensive assessment of the information available at that time on its functioning.”

What followed was a chain of bureaucratic abuses and violations of operational standards, which ultimately led to catastrophic consequences. As the head of Rostechnadzor Nikolai Kutin noted, the accident occurred due to a combination of various reasons: design, operational and repair. [C-BLOCK]

In particular, it was found that a few hours before the accident, the second hydraulic unit of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station reached excessive capacity six times, and vibration during this time increased fourfold. However, no one sounded the alarm.

The main cause of the disaster was said to be tension fatigue of the fasteners (studs) of the structure of hydraulic unit No. 2, which, with increased vibration, led to their rupture and, as a consequence, to the destruction of the turbine cover and water breakthrough. Summing up the investigation, the Chairman of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Alexander Aseev, said that the fastening studs were made of steel, “not capable of withstanding the necessary loads.”

Major disaster

To date, the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is the largest disaster at a hydropower facility in Russian history. Sergei Shoigu compared this accident in terms of its impact on the economic and sociological aspects of life in Russia with the disaster in Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The accident at the SSHPP caused a great public outcry and became, perhaps, the most discussed event of 2009 in the media. In particular, many reviews from witnesses of this disaster were published.

For example, Oleg Myakishev, an employee of the SSHHPP, recalled how he heard a growing roar, and then saw how the covering of the hydraulic unit stood on end and rose. “Then I saw the rotor rising from under it. He was spinning. - Myakishev continues. - My eyes didn’t believe it. He rose three meters. Stones and pieces of reinforcement flew, we began to dodge them. I figured: the water is rising, 380 cubic meters per second, and - I’m heading towards the tenth unit. I thought I wouldn’t make it in time.”

Raging streams of water in a matter of seconds flooded the turbine room and the rooms below it. All 10 hydraulic units were under water, after which a series of short circuits occurred that disabled the machines. Hydraulic units No. 7 and No. 9 were completely destroyed; under the flow of water and flying debris of structures, the walls and ceilings of the turbine room in the area of ​​hydraulic units No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 also collapsed. The area of ​​destruction reached 1200 square meters.

Consequences

The accident at the SShHPP led to a large power shortage in the entire Siberian energy system. The supply of electricity to a number of enterprises in Kuzbass was limited; temporary restrictions affected the largest metallurgical enterprises, including the Novokuznetsk Metallurgical Plant and the West Siberian Metallurgical Plant, as well as a number of coal mines and open-pit mines.

Energy workers have seriously reduced the load on the Krasnoyarsk aluminum smelter and the Kemerovo ferroalloy plant and completely cut off the power at the Sayan and Khakass aluminum smelters. Less than a day after the accident, a massive death of trout began in several fishing farms located downstream of the Yenisei. [C-BLOCK]

All property of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was insured by ROSNO for the amount of $200 million. In addition, each employee of the complex was insured by ROSNO for 500 thousand rubles. 18 dead and 1 injured were insured by Rosgosstrakh LLC, the total amount of payments exceeded 800 thousand rubles.

Property risks were also reinsured for international market, mostly in the Munich Re Group. With the German company, all disputes were resolved without any problems, but with the Swiss insurer Infrassure Ltd, litigation over payment of more than 800 million rubles dragged on for as long as 3 years.

The disaster at the SSHPP forced the authorities to monitor the condition of other water energy complexes. Thus, in the analytical note of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, which dealt with the problems of JSC RusHydro, it was noted that at many of the company’s stations “there is the operation of obsolete and physically worn-out equipment that has reached its standard service life of 25-30 years, the wear of which is almost 50% ", and "the degree of wear of certain types of hydraulic equipment - hydraulic turbines and hydraulic generators, hydraulic structures - exceeded 60% or reached a critical level."

Cyber ​​attack?

Not all of the conclusions of the commissions that investigated the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station satisfied Gennady Rassokhin, an energy engineer by profession. According to documents from Rostechnadzor and the parliamentary commission, the main cause of the accident was metal fatigue of the studs securing the turbine cover on hydraulic unit No. 2.

However, Rassokhin asks the question why on the surfaces of broken studs there are traces of the so-called “tarnished colors”, characteristic only of “fresh” surfaces of metal breaks, and not of surfaces with a long break? Such an inconsistency may suggest a planned disaster.

At one time, Edward Snowden released materials confirming that the United States National Security Agency in full swing is preparing for future digital wars, the goal of which is complete control over the world through the Internet. There, in particular, it was noted that the Politerain project, run by the NSA, is creating a team of so-called “digital snipers” whose task is to disable computers that control the operation of water supply systems, power plants, factories, airports, as well as intercept cash flows. [C-BLOCK]

A blogger, a programmer and physicist by training, who introduces himself under the nickname Mr. Andrey, put forward an alternative version of the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. In his opinion, the root cause of the disaster was the Stuxnet virus, which, as an element of cyber weapons, had previously been used to undermine the Russian economy.

Indeed, military analysts admit that Stuxnet is new milestone in the development of cyber weapons. Today it has confidently crossed the threshold of virtual space and has begun to threaten not only information objects, but also real-life objects.

Mr. Andrey describes his scenario of what happened at the SSHPP. At the moment when an accident occurred at the second hydraulic unit due to resonance, the equipment was controlled automatically, the blogger claims. Manual control for constant power output was disabled and the unit operated in the mode of compensating load ripples into the power system western Siberia. [C-BLOCK]

The programmer also draws attention to the fact that in March 2009, Ukrainian specialists worked at the facility and, in the process of checking the equipment (during scheduled repairs), they took the parameters of the resonant frequencies from the second unit. It is unknown where and into what hands this data fell, but one can guess, comments Mr. Andrey.

Having this data, according to the expert, it was not difficult to pump up the unit’s system through the control microcontroller so that it would gradually, over the course of several hours, “drive the turbine unit with the electric generator on the same shaft into the resonance zone.” Of course not about any information security They didn’t think about it then, despite the fact that this system had direct access to the Internet, the blogger concludes.

Municipal scientific and practical Internet conference for schoolchildren

"My Research in Natural Science"

Accident at Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station and its consequences

MOU-SOSH district Sovetskoe village

Supervisor:

teacher of geography and ecology

MOU-SOSH district Sovetskoe village

Introduction 2

I. History of creation 2

II. Accident at Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP 5

1) Disaster 6

2) Causes of the accident 7

III. Consequences of the accident

1) social consequences 8

2) environmental consequences 9

IV. Conclusion 10

References 11

Introduction

The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station on the Yenisei River is the largest hydroelectric power station in Russia and one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in the world. It is located on the border of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and Khakassia. Construction of the hydroelectric power station began in 1968, the first hydroelectric unit was launched in 1978, the last in 1985. The power plant was put into permanent operation in 2000. Technically, the hydroelectric power station consists of a concrete arch-gravity dam with a height of 245 m and a hydroelectric power station building near the dam, which houses 10 radial-axial hydraulic units with a capacity of 640 MW each. The installed capacity of the hydroelectric power station is 6400 MW, the average annual output is 24.5 billion kWh. The hydroelectric dam forms a large Sayano-Shushenskoye reservoir with seasonal regulation. Downstream of the Yenisei there is a counter-regulating Mainskaya hydroelectric power station, which forms a single production complex with the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. The hydroelectric power station structures were designed by the Lenhydroproekt Institute, the hydraulic power equipment was supplied by the LMZ and Elektrosila plants (now part of the Power Machines concern). Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station belongs to.

I.History of creation

The Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was designed by the Lenhydroproekt Institute. On November 4, 1961, the first team of surveyors from the institute, under the leadership, arrived in the mining village of Maina with the aim of examining three competing sites for the construction of a hydroelectric power station. Surveyors, geologists, and hydrologists worked in cold and bad weather, 12 drilling rigs in three shifts “probed” the bottom of the Yenisei from the ice.

In July 1962 expert commission chose the final option - Karlovsky site. 20 kilometers downstream, it was planned to build a satellite of the Sayano-Shushenskaya - the counter-regulatory Mainskaya hydroelectric station.

Initially, four dam design options were considered: gravity, arch-gravity, arch and rockfill. At the stage technical project The option of an arched buttress dam was considered.

The arch-gravity one was chosen as the one that most corresponds to the topographical and engineering-geological conditions of the site.

The creation of a dam of this type in the conditions of the wide section of the Yenisei and the harsh climate of Siberia had no analogues in the world. The design assignment was developed under the guidance of the chief engineer of the project. After his approval, he was appointed head of the department and chief engineer of the projects (1965). The development of the technical project that began under him was continued.

In 1967, the Komsomol Central Committee declared the construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station an All-Union Komsomol shock construction project. On November 4, 1967, a symbolic slab was laid for the foundation of the first large-panel house, which laid the foundation for the city of Sayanogorsk. In the summer of 1979, student construction teams with a total number of 1,700 people took part in the construction of the hydroelectric power station, and Komsomol youth groups were formed during the construction.

More than 200 organizations were involved in the construction, the largest of which was KrasnoyarskGESstroy of the USSR Ministry of Energy.

The largest industrial associations of the USSR created the latest equipment especially for the hydroelectric station: Leningrad Metal Plant (hydraulic turbines), Leningrad Electrical Engineering Association Elektrosila (hydrogen generators), and Zaporozhtransformator association (transformers). By waterway almost 10,000 kilometers long - through the Northern Arctic Ocean turbine runners were delivered to the upper reaches of the Yenisei. Thanks to the original technical solution- installation of temporary impellers on the first two turbines, capable of operating at intermediate water pressures, made it possible to begin operation of the first stage of the station before the completion of construction and installation work.

The first cubic meter of concrete was laid in the main structures of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station - October 17, 1970.

In April 1974, the "Twenty-Eight Treaty", or a joint commitment, was signed aimed at reducing construction time and improving the quality of work performed. The idea of ​​the agreement provided for the identification of reserve capabilities of all construction participants and the constant coordination of their actions. From the very beginning, the Coordination Council was headed by the director of Lenhydroproject.

The first cubic meter of concrete was laid in the spillway part of the dam on December 26, 1972. The channel of the Yenisei was blocked on October 11, 1975. The construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was carried out in a phased manner.

Each of the ten turbines of the hydroelectric power station, equipped with an impeller made of cavitation-resistant stainless steel 6.77 meters in diameter and weighing 156 tons, is capable of developing kW power with a design head of 194 meters. The first two generators of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP were put into operation with temporary hydraulic turbine impellers capable of operating at low pressures. This made it possible to generate electricity even with partial pressure, starting from 60 meters.

To ensure the launch of the first hydraulic unit on time, filling the reservoir was hastily started. Only the sanitary pass was dumped into the downstream. At the same time, there was no provision for releasing water from the reservoir in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

The turbine hall of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was built on the basis of a spatial cross-rod structure, which was first used in the practice of constructing hydroelectric power plants. It consists of unified metal elements of the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARKHI) system. The ceiling and walls of the hall serve to protect equipment and people from external environment. The design did not take into account the loads associated with the action of hydraulic processes during the operation of spillways and units. Therefore, due to increased vibration, once every three years after each idle spillway, it is necessary to inspect thousands of structural units, measuring the gaps in the connecting units.

II. Accident at Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station

The accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is an industrial man-made disaster that occurred on August 17, 2009. As a result of the accident, 75 people died and serious damage was caused to the equipment and premises of the station. The power generation station has been suspended. The consequences of the accident affected ecological situation water area adjacent to the hydroelectric power station, on the social and economic spheres of the region. This accident is the largest disaster in history at a Russian hydropower facility and one of the most significant in the history of world hydropower. “The accident is unique,” ​​said, in particular, the Russian Minister for Civil Defense, Emergency Situations and Consequence Elimination natural disasters S.K. Shoigu. “Nothing like this has been observed in world practice.” However, the assessment of the consequences of the disaster in the expert and political community is ambiguous. The accident caused a great public outcry, becoming one of the most discussed events in the media of 2009.

1. Disaster

At the time of the accident, the load on the station was 4100 MW, out of 10 hydraulic units, 9 were in operation (hydraulic unit No. 6 was under repair). At 8:13 local time on August 17, 2009, a sudden destruction of hydraulic unit No. 2 occurred with significant volumes of water flowing through the hydraulic unit shaft under high pressure. The power plant personnel, who were in the turbine room, heard a loud bang in the area of ​​hydraulic unit No. 2 and saw the release of a powerful column of water.

Streams of water quickly flooded the machine room and the rooms below it. All hydraulic units of the hydroelectric power station were flooded, while short circuits occurred on the operating hydroelectric generators, rendering them inoperable. There was a complete load shedding of the hydroelectric power station, which also led to a blackout of the station itself. A light and sound alarm went off at the station's central control panel, after which the control panel was de-energized - operational communications, power supply to lighting, automation and alarm devices were lost. Automatic systems that stop hydraulic units worked only on hydraulic unit No. 5, the guide vane of which was automatically closed. The gates on the water intakes of other hydraulic units remained open, and water continued to flow through the water conduits to the turbines, which led to the destruction of hydraulic units No. 7 and 9 (the stators and crosspieces of the generators were severely damaged). Streams of water and flying debris from hydraulic units completely destroyed the walls and floors of the turbine room in the area of ​​hydraulic units No. 2, 3, 4. Hydraulic units No. 3, 4 and 5 were littered with debris from the turbine room. The station employees who had such an opportunity promptly left the scene of the accident.

2. Causes of the accident

Report of a technical investigation into the causes of the accident that occurred on August 17, 2009 at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP named after P. S. Neporozhny, a branch of the Open Joint Stock Company RusHydro. The act provides general information about the hydroelectric power station, listing the events that preceded the accident, describing the course of the accident, listing the causes and events that influenced the development of the accident. The immediate cause of the accident by this act was formulated as follows:

Due to the repeated occurrence of additional variable loads on the hydraulic unit associated with transitions through the non-recommended zone, fatigue damage to the hydraulic unit attachment points, including the turbine cover, formed and developed. The destruction of the studs caused by dynamic loads led to the tearing off of the turbine cover and depressurization of the water supply path of the hydraulic unit.

From the report of the parliamentary commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the emergence of emergency technogenic nature at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, the causes of the accident are formulated as follows:

The accident at the SSHHPP with numerous casualties was the result of a number of reasons of a technical, organizational and regulatory legal nature. Most of these reasons are systemic and multifactorial in nature, including unacceptably low responsibility of the operating personnel, unacceptably low responsibility and professionalism of the plant management, as well as abuse of official position by the plant management.

Constant monitoring of the technical condition of the equipment by operational and repair personnel was not properly organized. The main cause of the accident was the failure to take measures to promptly stop the second hydraulic unit and determine the causes of vibration.

III. Consequences

1. Social consequences

At the time of the accident, there were 116 people in the station’s turbine room, including one person on the roof of the hall, 52 people on the floor of the hall (at 327 m) and 63 people in the interior below the hall floor (at 315 and 320 m). Of these, 15 people were station employees, the rest were employees of various contracting organizations carrying out repair work (most of them were employees of Shushensky Hydroenergoremont). In total, there were about 300 people on the station territory (including outside the area affected by the accident). The accident killed 75 people and injured 13 people. The body of the last victim was found on September 23. Full list of the dead, indicating the locations where the bodies were found, was published in the technical investigation report of the Rostechnadzor commission. Large quantity deaths is explained by the presence of most people in the internal premises of the station below the floor level of the turbine room and the rapid flooding of these premises.

From the first day of the accident, estimates of the chances of survival of people who might have been inside the flooded turbine room were disappointing.

The lack of official information about the accident and the condition of the dam during the first hours, interruptions in communications, and, subsequently, distrust of the statements of local authorities, based on experience, caused panic in those downstream of the river. populated areas- Cheryomushki, Sayanogorsk, Abakan, Minusinsk. Residents rushed to stay with relatives, away from the dam, and to nearby higher ground, leading to long lines at gas stations, traffic jams, and car accidents.

2. Environmental consequences

The accident had negative impact on environment: oil from the lubrication baths of the bearings of hydraulic units, from the destroyed control systems of guide vanes and transformers got into the Yenisei, the resulting slick stretched for 130 km. The total volume of oil leaks from the station equipment was 436.5 m3, of which approximately 45 m3 of predominantly turbine oil ended up in the river. In order to prevent further spread of oil along the river, booms were installed; To facilitate the collection of oil, a special sorbent was used, but it was not possible to quickly stop the spread of oil products; the stain was completely eliminated only on August 24; cleanup of the coastal strip is planned to be completed by December 31, 2009. Water pollution with oil products led to the death of about 400 tons of commercial trout in fish farms located downstream of the river; There were no facts of fish death in the Yenisei itself. The total amount of environmental damage is tentatively estimated at 63 million rubles.

In the village of Maina, due to the failure of purification filters, water intake from the Yenisei was suspended, which caused a disruption in the centralized water supply of the village. Local authorities organized the delivery of water by tanker trucks on schedule; 40% of the population of the village of Maina temporarily used water from wells. For 1.8 thousand elderly people and disabled people who could not bring water to their homes, the delivery of bottled water was organized by the local branch of the Red Cross with funding from the European Commission in the amount of 10.5 thousand euros.

IV. Conclusion

Maybe the Soviet energy system, once the best in the world, has exhausted itself, and the technical policy of the post-Soviet industry leadership has turned out to be untenable?

The incident is a harbinger of what Russian leaders have long feared: the inexorable degradation of Soviet-era infrastructure. Everything - from power plants to ports, from airports, pipelines and railways to city thermal power plants and the Moscow metro - almost everything is in urgent need of repair.

…These tragic events we must once again be reminded of enough simple things, which we, unfortunately, often forget - that security control systems and the infrastructure of Russian enterprises as a whole currently require the utmost attention. In some cases, this infrastructure is ineffective and needs urgent modernization, otherwise we will pay the heaviest price.

List of used literature

1. Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

2. Geography of Russia. Atlas. Roscartography, 2008

3. Russia in numbers. M., 2006

4. CIS member countries. Statistical Yearbook. 2002

5. Rustle of placement of electric power industry. M., 2005

6. Internet site "Wikipedia".

Monuments have already appeared on most of the graves: someone is depicted in full growth against the backdrop of a hydroelectric power station, poems or simply the words are engraved somewhere: “Here lie a father and son, who came out for a minute, gone forever...”.

Looking at this last refuge First-class specialists, those who are visiting this cemetery for the first time usually feel uneasy from the realization that the date of death on all the tombstones located on the large “patch” at the entrance is the same - August 17, 2009.

Uyskoe cemetery in Khakassia - almost all those who died in the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station are buried here. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

"They're all down there"

Not all relatives of those 75 people who once went to work and did not return were able to survive the loss. Now, next to the graves of those whose lives were cut short at the hydroelectric power station, mothers, fathers, children, wives, and husbands rest. People come here every day, stand for a long time at the graves, then pray in the chapel built right there and leave silently.

One of those who forever linked their fate with the hydroelectric power station - Alexander Bezrukov, professional electric and gas welder. Ironically, he participated in its construction several decades ago. “He helped her be born, and she helped him die,” that’s what his colleagues now say about him.

His wife - Nina Bezrukova, like dozens of widows, does not like to talk to journalists. He says he doesn’t want to reopen a wound that has never healed: “What happened will never leave my memory. For two years after the accident at the hydroelectric power station, all I did was ask myself questions. Only recently did it dawn on me: this happened, you need to live with it, you need to accept it, no matter how painful it may be.”

After the tragedy, the widow of a hydroelectric power station employee, Nina Bezrukova, could not even leave the house for six months. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

She met her husband in the 70s during the construction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. A graduate of the Sverdlovsk technical school came to Cheryomushki to visit her parents, and she, like many young people of that time, was drawn into the romance of the all-Union construction project.

“After I visited the station, I realized that I don’t want to leave here,” says Nina. “Soon I was hired as a welder’s assistant. I ended up in the same brigade where Sasha worked. I was 19, he was 21. Despite the fact that I was insanely shy, and he was intelligent, everything somehow gradually started to turn around. We got married, had children, and had a grandson.”

The residents of Khakassia have always been taught: the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is a reliable design, nothing can ever happen to it, because it was built with high quality, conscientiously, as they said, “for centuries.” No one living in the village of Cheryomushki, from where you can hear the water beating against the crests of the dam every second, could even imagine that anything could happen to this colossus.

“In March 2009, five months before the accident, Sasha retired,” the widow recalls. “But I was in no hurry to say goodbye to work.” I repeatedly told him: stop working, let’s start living for ourselves. But he wanted to work for another year. He had many students, his superiors consulted with him, it was considered that he had such length of service at the station!”

Now the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is almost restored, work is being carried out in several shifts. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

About three months before the accident, Nina began to be haunted by a premonition of misfortune that came from nowhere. But then she didn’t attach any importance to it:

“Very often, while working around the house, I caught myself thinking that I was burying Sasha. I drove away such “visions” from myself, but they returned. I just couldn’t understand why this came to my mind? Why would that be? I often woke up at night and the first thing I did was check to see if my husband was alive. I look at him - he’s breathing, everything is fine, and then I fall asleep. I was constantly haunted by some kind of anxiety. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get rid of it.”

Last hours

An incredibly responsible person by nature, that morning 55-year-old Alexander, perhaps for the first time in for many years overslept.

“In my sleep I heard him turn off the alarm clock. Despite the fact that she herself desperately wanted to sleep, she understood that she needed to wake her up. Somehow at seven o'clock he got up and quickly got ready. Sasha kissed me, went out into the entrance and stopped. This has never happened before. He turned and began to look at me, as if in last time. I will never forget this sad, farewell look. He has these beautiful eyes were: light, blue. Then I said: “Sasha, how beautiful you are.”

Closing the door behind her husband, the woman went to the kitchen to make coffee. Somewhere at 8:13 a.m. the light blinked, but she did not attach any serious importance to this fact. Soon her son called her and asked: “What happened at the hydroelectric power station?” But Nina knew nothing. She immediately looked out the window and saw dozens of townspeople running somewhere.

Residents were confident that the hydroelectric power station was a reliable structure. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

“I remember I grabbed Sasha’s driver’s license and ran outside. None of the people knew anything, everyone was hurrying up the mountain, towards the dachas. And then I meet my husband’s boss and ask: “What happened? Where is Sasha? And he answers me: “They are all down there.” I returned home, and what started here...”

For several months after the incident, Nina Bezrukova, as she now admits, was on sedatives. Months of life, but rather of existence. She, like dozens of widows, walked around like a zombie, not noticing anything around her.

“They gave us some drugs. We drank them. I didn’t leave the house for six months, I cried like a beluga. A few months later, the children began taking me to psychologists. Here, in Cheryomushki, I attended courses, and in Krasnoyarsk I saw a good specialist. They offered me to sell the apartment and leave Khakassia. But I don't want to leave this village. This is my husband's grave. No, I’m not at all afraid of living next to a hydroelectric power station—what happens, will happen. You can't escape fate. At first, when I left here somewhere far away, it was easier for me. But when I returned, I realized: this place is some kind of place for me. black hole. Everything that I struggled with somewhere far away came back here. This happened for two years. From constant tears I began to see poorly. Now I have to wear glasses."

Only after two years, or maybe three, she doesn’t remember exactly when, she realized that she needed to learn to live on. Psychologists advised taking care of her family only when she has free time. And the woman listened. Now she spends a lot of time at the dacha, travels often, has passed the traffic police exam, and drives a car confidently.

“You can’t bring a person back, you need to move on with your life. The dead are gone forever. But they say they will return someday. Many young women who lost their loved ones on Sayano-Shushenskaya began life with a clean slate. I’m happy for them, besides, they need to get on their own feet and raise children. And life, no matter what, goes on.”

“There was silence in the village”

Valentina Gartseva - former kindergarten teacher— is now raising three grandchildren. Their mother is Inna Zholobova— died on the day of the accident. At the moment when the second unit failed, she was in the machine room, working as a plasterer-painter.

Valentina Gartseva took custody of three grandchildren: their mother died in the turbine room of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

“I remember this day, my daughter went to work, I was sleeping at home with the children, I heard screaming and noise on the street. I looked out the window, a man running past said: gather the kids and run to the sports complex, the hydroelectric power station has burst. Then my son came running, picked us up with the guys and took us to the dacha. I knew that my daughter was there, but I didn’t even think that she might die,” recalls Valentina Gartseva.

Information soon appeared: everything was in order with the hydroelectric dam. The family returned home. “I was busy with urgent matters; I didn’t have time to go out and listen to what they were saying. My son came, I asked why Inna didn’t call? She's always so worried about the children. He replied: Mom, Inna will never call again.”

The son took Valentina Georgievna to another apartment so as not to frighten the children. Neighbors came running and tried to calm him down. There was no hope: Inna's body was found within the first hours after the accident.

Valentina Gartseva remembers that evening: she says it was so quiet in the village, you couldn’t even hear the birds. No one really wanted to talk about what happened - this is still a topic that they try to avoid in everyday communication. The village is small, everyone knows each other, the families of the victims try not to disturb them again.

In the village of Cheryomushki they don’t like to talk about what happened in 2009. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

“Inna’s daughter found out about her mother’s death immediately. We tried to prepare the middle one, Kiryusha - he suffered a traumatic brain injury, we were afraid for the child. When Inna’s body was at our house, he was taken to the neighbors, but he ran in and saw her,” recalls Valentina. “We didn’t tell the younger one anything. Only one day at dinner, when he didn’t want to eat, I said: Mommy is looking at you from heaven, and you’re being capricious. He asked why mom was there? I answered: it happened that way. The boy didn't say anything. But at night he began to cry and scream - this happened every day for the next six months. Now he’s already big, he understands everything, he goes with us to the cemetery.”

Valentina Gartseva’s two sons still work at the hydroelectric power station. She says she never asked them to leave - work is work. “My husband and I are raising children, and gradually everything is getting better. The eldest studied with straight A's until the sixth grade, when Inna died, she dropped to only C's. Only now they have started to catch up, they listen to us well,” says Valentina. “We received compensation from the company, apartments too, they even helped with money for their repairs. We were recently taken to a sanatorium.”

The construction of the coastal spillway at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station began even before the accident, but what happened in 2009 forced power engineers to greatly accelerate. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

The trial over the accident continues, but Inna Zholobova’s family does not go there. “It’s hard for me, and I don’t understand anything about it,” explains Valentina Gartseva. - Of course, I would like the guilty to be punished. But I don’t know who is to blame, I didn’t work there, and I don’t want to judge just like that.”

She doesn’t come to the cemetery on the anniversary of the accident - she says the atmosphere is too heavy. He tries to visit often, but on other days.

Valentina Georgievna’s grandchildren may go to work at Sayano-Shushenskaya: the eldest is going to be a welder, the middle one plans to study to become a hydropower engineer, the youngest is not talking about his dreams yet.

“We heard a roar, but we thought it was necessary”

HPP employee Egor Mikerov- one of those who survived the disaster. His office was located above the turbine room, which was completely flooded at the time of the accident.

Egor Mikerov is one of the employees who survived the accident. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

Early in the morning he came to work, disarmed his office, and booted up the computer. Suddenly I heard a strange hum: at first small, then increasingly intensifying. And cotton. “After the clap, they turned off the lights,” says Yegor. — My office is on the ground floor and is closest to the machine room. A stream of water, a huge stream, poured into the corridor. I realized that I wouldn’t make it to the emergency exit at the end of the corridor - I have cerebral palsy, I’m disabled since childhood,” says Egor. “I closed the door and climbed out through the window onto the street, there were already streams gushing out of two doors, the water was about knee-deep. A woman jumped out of a nearby building, together with her we slowly walked to the checkpoint, the water kept rising, but we managed to cling to some kind of visor. Then the guys came running and pulled me out. They put me in a car and sent me home.”

Yegor recalls: the worst thing was the craters that formed over the open basements; office furniture and iron safes were sucked in there; even a person could easily be sucked in. A couple of times the craters were only a couple of meters from Yegor, but luckily we managed to get around them.

Eyewitnesses recall that at first the noise did not cause concern. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

Almost no one understood what happened; there was a guess that the sixth unit had broken down, because it was planned to be launched on that very day. Therefore, the resulting vibration did not surprise anyone. A hum during startup is normal. Only when the noise began to grow did they realize that something had gone wrong.

Egor recalls: many employees arrived at the hydroelectric power station within two hours after the accident: people were returning from vacation, coming from other cities. Cellular communication stopped working within the first hour - it could not withstand the overload. No one was called, but everyone rushed to the hydroelectric power station.

“It was absolutely obvious that only the Ministry of Emergency Situations could not cope, this is impossible, no matter how many people they had, so everyone who could helped,” says Yegor. “I miraculously managed to get through to my father and mother and said: pack your things, I thought there would be an evacuation.” In the morning there was a terrible fog, the body of the dam was almost invisible, there were fears that something had happened to it. Then I realized that it was intact - otherwise stones and boulders would have started falling from the mountains.”

Ambulances drove along the street every now and then. The village was empty - everyone went to the station. A search began for the victims, which lasted more than a month. Yegor says he lost hope much earlier: “My relatives believed until the last moment, but I knew that if people were not found in the first 24 hours, it would be almost impossible to save them: a person would hardly survive in the water for more than 24 hours.”

Sayano-Shushinskaya hydroelectric power station. Photo: AiF / Lyudmila Alekseeva

Yegor does not like to overdramatize what happened: “Yes, 75 people died (we count among ourselves - 76, one girl was pregnant and was about to go on maternity leave). All this incredible grief. But how many people were saved after all?”

A month later, drying and repairs began in the premises. The hydroelectric power station gradually began to be restored, people returned to their offices and began to carry out their direct duties.

Soon Egor got married and had a daughter: “I can’t say that at that moment I experienced some kind of colossal stress, I couldn’t recover for a long time - you see, I’m disabled, I’ve gotten used to stress since childhood, maybe that’s why I quickly came to myself, I don’t complain about anything. The village is small, and we go through all these troubles together. But life goes on, the city lives its own life. We remember the dead."

The tragedy at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station occurred on August 17 at 08:13 local time (04:13 Moscow time).

Due to the destruction of hydraulic unit No. 2, water began to flow into the station's turbine room under high pressure. The load on the hydroelectric power station almost immediately dropped to zero, the constantly rising water short time flooded the entire hall and the technical rooms underneath. All ten hydraulic units of the station were damaged, three of them were completely destroyed. A short circuit in the generator control systems led to a complete shutdown of the hydroelectric power station.

As a result of the disaster, 75 people were killed and 13 were injured. Up to 50 tons of turbine oil ended up in the Yenisei.

The accident at the hydroelectric power station has no analogues in the domestic and global hydropower industry.

About Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP

Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station named after. P.S. Neporozhniy (SSHPP) is the most powerful hydroelectric power station in Russia. Its installed capacity is 6,400 MW, and its annual output is about 24 billion kW/h. The hydroelectric power station is located on the Yenisei River in Khakassia near the city of Sayanogorsk. Included in JSC RusHydro as a branch of the company.

Construction of the station began in 1968. The first of ten hydraulic units of the hydroelectric power station was launched in December 1978, the last in December 1985. The station was put into commercial operation in 2000.

SSHHPP is a high-pressure hydroelectric power station of the dam type. Its pressure front is formed by a concrete arch-gravity dam deeply cut into the rocky shores. Height hydraulic structure- 245 m, length along the crest - 1074.4 m, width at the base - 105.7 m and along the crest - 25 m. Reservoir area - 621 sq. km. The station's turbine room houses 10 hydraulic units with a capacity of 640 MW each.

Continuation

Rescue operation

The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu and the Minister of Energy Sergei Shmatko flew to the scene of a large-scale emergency. During the night from August 17 to 18, the number of people involved in eliminating the consequences of the accident increased tenfold.

Divers examined the flooded premises. The search and rescue operation was carried out mainly in the turbine room of the hydroelectric station. “Divers work in difficult conditions: the water is cloudy, mixed with engine oil, but all corners of the engine room are carefully examined,” noted the head of the Siberian search and rescue team, Alexander Kresan.

On the day of the accident, two people were saved, but already on August 18, the likelihood of finding living people in the flood zone was assessed as insignificant.

If a person is caught in an air bubble, then there is hope for his salvation. If he finds himself in water, given that its temperature does not exceed four degrees, then the chances of saving him are minimal

Alexander Tolokonnikov

former general director of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station

On August 20, pumping of water from the turbine hall began, by which time the number of victims had reached 17 people.

RusHydro announced that it plans to pay more than 300 million rubles in support of family members of the dead and injured.

"YouTube.com/tdudin80"

"The largest and most incomprehensible accident in the world"

The investigation into the causes of the disaster was carried out by several departments. Immediately after the accident, the Investigative Committee became involved in it as part of the criminal case initiated, and a Rostechnadzor commission was also created.

First versions

Initially as possible reason During the accident, a water hammer version was put forward, but it did not find support, as well as the version about the explosion of a transformer, which caused the collapse of the wall of the turbine hall. The Investigative Committee ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack.

RusHydro specialists suggested that the accident occurred due to the destruction of the turbine due to a manufacturing defect. However, the heads of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Energy warned against hasty conclusions.

Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko called what happened at Russia's largest hydroelectric power station "the largest and most incomprehensible accident in the world."

Rostechnadzor report

On October 3, 2009, Rostechnadzor presented a report on the investigation into the causes of the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. The document took up more than 100 pages. It was prepared by a commission of 26 specialists under the leadership of the head Federal service for environmental, technological and nuclear supervision Nikolai Kutyin. The Technical Investigation Report of the causes of the accident noted that the accident occurred due to a combination of reasons, including negligence, technical and organizational failures.

Rostekhnadzor, which came every three years and checked the condition of the station, should act as an “axe” that constantly hangs over the management of the station

Vladimir Pekhtin

co-chairman of the commission from the State Duma

The Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, the last unit of which began operating in 1985, was officially put into operation only 15 years later, in 2000, without any state examination. The corresponding document was signed by Anatoly Chubais, who at that time headed RAO UES of Russia. The report also stated that during the initial period of operation of the hydroelectric power station, several dozen cases of turbine equipment failures occurred.

The Rostechnadzor commission named six people involved in the accident at the hydroelectric power station. Among them are the former head of RAO UES of Russia Anatoly Chubais, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Sinyugin, General Director of TGK-1 Boris Vainzikher, Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation in 2001-2004 Igor Yusufov. The list of persons involved in the accident also includes Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Central Commission for Commissioning of the Sayano-Shushenskoye Hydroelectric Complex in 2000, Anatoly Dyakov, and Managing Director, Head of the “South” Division of the RusHydro Company, chief engineer SSHHPP in 1983-2006 Valentin Stafievsky.

Rostekhnadzor report: six involved

As noted in the document, Vyacheslav Sinyugin made decisions regarding the withdrawal of maintenance personnel from staffing table HPP, without ensuring that repair and maintenance contracts include requirements for regular monitoring of the technical condition of the main equipment. He “did not create the conditions for a proper assessment of the real state of safety of the SSHHPP. He did not take effective measures to develop, finance and implement compensatory measures for the safe operation of the SSHHPP, including not ensuring the implementation of the decision on the speedy construction of an additional spillway at the SSHHPP, and did not take effective measures to replace impellers on hydraulic units that reduce the influence of “non-recommended zones” of their operation, did not ensure the adoption of a program for the safe operation of hydraulic units involved in power regulation and, therefore, having increased wear.”

Boris Vainzikher, according to the conclusions of the commission, was responsible for the introduction of RAO UES standards aimed at strengthening the safe operation of equipment and which did not ensure the safe operation of SSHHPP at the proper level.

Anatoly Chubais, the document notes, “approved the Act of the Central Commission on the acceptance into operation of the Sayano-Shushenskoye hydropower complex. At the same time, a proper assessment was not given of the actual state of safety of the SSHHPP.” In addition, timely compensatory measures for the safe operation of the SSHHPP were not developed and implemented, including the decision “to begin work on the construction of an additional spillway at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP as soon as possible”, the impellers on the hydraulic units were not replaced, and a program was not developed compensating measures for the safe operation of hydraulic units involved in power regulation and, therefore, having increased wear."

Valentin Stafievsky, according to the conclusions of Rostekhnadzor, “knowing about the real state of the equipment operated at the SSHHPP, did not create the conditions for RusHydro to take effective measures for the safe operation of the SSHHPP. Participated in the removal of repair personnel from the staffing table, without ensuring compliance with the requirements for regular monitoring of the technical condition of the main equipment SShGES".

Anatoly Dyakov was the chairman of the Central Commission for the commissioning of the Sayano-Shushensky hydropower complex and signed the acceptance certificate with a “good” rating. “The commission’s act did not fully reflect the actual state of the operating buildings, structures and equipment of the SShHPP, which created the preconditions for underestimation real consequences further operation,” notes the Rostechnadzor document.

Igor Yusufov, “while serving as Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, he did not create mechanisms for real state control and supervision over the safe operation of energy facilities, including those included in RAO UES of Russia,” notes the Rostechnadzor act. Yusufov, the document says, “did not ensure development and adoption of the framework public policy in the field of safe operation of energy facilities, contributed to the transfer of control functions from the state to operating organizations without making decisions on increasing their responsibility for the energy security of the Russian Federation"

Continuation

Rostekhnadzor also reported that the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was related to the fire at the Bratsk HPP on August 16. It is because of this that the load on the SSHPP had to be increased and a second hydraulic unit had to be put into operation. “It cannot be said that the Bratsk hydroelectric power station is to blame for the accident at Sayano-Shushenskaya, but the conditions were created just at the time of the fire at Bratskaya,” noted the head of Rostechnadzor Nikolai Kutin.

Parliamentary conclusions

In parallel with the Rostekhnadzor commission, a parliamentary commission created in September 2009 conducted its own investigation. Members of the commission - deputies and senators - visited the site of the accident and the enterprises where equipment for the hydroelectric power station was produced.

The commission determined that more than 20 persons were involved in creating the conditions for the accident. Among them are the station management, including general director and chief engineer, technical services, who were responsible for repair work and technical condition equipment, as well as organizations that supplied various equipment to hydroelectric power plants, including automation.

The Commission addressed Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation with a request to identify the persons involved in the accident and establish the degree of their guilt.

Immediate cause of the accident

During the investigation into the causes of the accident by the Rostechnadzor commission and the parliamentary commission, the immediate cause of the destruction of hydraulic unit No. 2 was named fatigue failure of the turbine cover mounting studs as a result of vibration.

Continuation

Sentence for seven defendants

More than 300 witnesses were questioned in the case, 234 examinations were carried out, including forensic, genetic, technical, metallurgical, as well as explosive and seismological.

“Due to the large volume of materials, and more than 850 material evidence was attached to the criminal case, the examinations lasted for a year, based on the results of which a mathematical model development of the accident," said Vladimir Markin, a representative of the Investigative Committee.

Accusation

Seven station employees were in the dock: director of the SSHHPP Nikolai Nevolko, chief engineer Andrei Mitrofanov and his deputies Evgeniy Shervarli, Gennady Nikitenko, as well as employees of the hydroelectric power station equipment monitoring service Alexander Matvienko, Vladimir Beloborodov and Alexander Klyukach.

Family members of the victims still cannot come to terms with the loss of their loved ones. However, a month ago information appeared that those responsible for the accident would allegedly go unpunished. The fact that a criminal case could be terminated due to the statute of limitations angered people

Nikolay Popov

They were charged with violating labor safety rules, which negligently resulted in the death of a person. The article provided for imprisonment for up to three years. But by the time the case was received by the prosecutor’s office on December 8, 2011, amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation came into force, and this article was classified as of minor gravity. The statute of limitations for it is 2 years and by that time had actually expired, and therefore the prosecutor’s office returned the criminal case for additional investigation.

Investigative actions in the case of the accident at the SSHHPP were completed in June 2012. Seven defendants were charged with new article- part 3 art. 216 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - “Violation of safety rules during work, resulting in the death of more than two persons and causing major damage.” They face seven years in prison.

According to investigators, the accused allowed hydraulic unit No. 2 to operate in an unsatisfactory vibration condition for a long time. HPP employees were inactive and did not take measures to eliminate the malfunction, including during scheduled repairs carried out in January-March 2009.

162 people were recognized as victims. On June 4, 2013, the criminal case was sent for consideration to the Sayanogorsk City Court of the Republic of Khakassia. On July 15, 2013, preliminary hearings were held in court and the trial began on July 19.

Sentence and amnesty

The verdict for the defendants in the criminal case regarding the accident at the hydroelectric power station was handed down on December 24, 2014. The former director of the hydroelectric power station, Nikolai Nevolko, was sentenced to 6 years in a general regime colony; the same sentence was given to chief engineer Andrei Mitrofanov. His deputies Evgeny Shervarli and Gennady Nikitenko were sentenced to 5.5 years and 5 years 9 months in a general regime colony. Employees of the equipment monitoring service Alexander Matvienko, Vladimir Beloborodov and Alexander Klyukach were sentenced to 4.5 years in prison without the right to occupy leadership positions. Moreover, Vladimir Beloborodov was released under an amnesty.

19 complaints were filed against the decision of the Sayanogorsk City Court from victims, defense and convicts. Three injured individuals, as well as a representative of the RusHydro company, which was also recognized as the injured party, asked to acquit the convicted persons. In turn, the state prosecution asked to leave the sentence unchanged.

May 26 Supreme Court Khakassia changed the sentence of two defendants in the case. Workers of the hydroelectric power station equipment monitoring service Alexander Matvienko and Alexander Klyukach, previously sentenced to 4.5 years in prison, were granted an amnesty on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The remaining defendants were left with the same sentences.

The statute of limitations in the criminal case regarding the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station expired on August 17, 2015. If the decision of the Sayanogorsk court had not entered into legal force before this date, all those convicted would have been released and the case closed.

Restoration work and modernization of the station

It took more than five years and 41 billion rubles to restore the hydroelectric power station. The first work at the station began in August 2009. By October, the rubble in the turbine hall was cleared, and by November, the walls and roof of the hall were restored, which made it possible to create a thermal circuit and ensure that work could be carried out during the cold season.

At the first stage (2010-2011), the least damaged hydraulic units No. 3, 4, 5, 6 were restored and a new hydraulic unit No. 1 was put into operation (in December 2011). In October 2011, a new coastal bypass spillway of the hydroelectric power station was put into permanent operation, allowing for additional water passage of up to 4 thousand cubic meters. m (construction cost - about 7 billion rubles) and meets modern international requirements for the passage of flood waters.

At the second stage (2012-2013), new hydraulic units No. 7, 8, 9 and 10 began to be used, and previously restored units No. 5 and 6 were replaced with new ones.

At the final stage in 2014, the updated unit No. 4 was connected to the network - on May 22, President Vladimir Putin, during a video conference, gave the command to launch it - and the equipment on unit No. 3 was updated.

The manufacture and installation of new hydraulic units for the station was carried out by OJSC Power Machines (a contract worth 11.7 billion rubles was signed with OJSC RusHydro on November 30, 2009).

Work on the reconstruction of the station was completed in November 2014, the station reached its designed capacity (6400 megawatts).

The completion of the complete modernization of the hydroelectric power station is scheduled for 2015.

What changed after the emergency

After a large-scale accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, it was decided to carry out a comprehensive reconstruction of the station and equip it with new and modern equipment that has improved performance characteristics and meets all reliability and safety requirements.

The service life of the new hydraulic units has been increased to 40 years. Open distribution plants will be replaced by devices closed type to reduce wear. The hydroelectric power station will have a comprehensive automated system monitoring the condition of the dam. The new coastal bypass spillway of the station, put into permanent operation in October 2011, meets modern international requirements for the passage of flood waters; it allows additional water passage of up to 4000 cubic meters. m per second. Also in 2009, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation ordered, during planned repairs, to replace all fastenings of turbine covers and install recording devices ("black boxes") at all Russian hydroelectric power plants.