Sogrinskaya TPS to resume heat supply before Wednesday

/INTERFAX-KAZAKHSTAN, February 21, 05/ - AES Sogrinskaya TPS LLP (EKO) plans to resume heat supply for its consumers in full volume before Wednesday, February 23. Company's press-services informed Interfax-Kazakhstan about it on Monday. As was informed before, as a result of explosion occurred on the past week- end at Sogrinskaya TPS, which belonged to American corporation AES, heat supply of Ust-Kamenogorsk titanium-magnesium combine (UKTMC) and 60 private houses of Sogra settlement was interrupted. No victims. The first of three boilers of TPS was started several hours after equipment stoppage. As the press-service says, at present boiler N3 is working, works on starting the boiler N2 are carried out, which are to be finished before February 23. "After finishing these works we will be able to resume heat supply for the combine (UKTMC - "IF-K") in normal mode", - said a representative of LLP. She has noted UKTMC automatically switched to usage of "other" sources of heat - and energy supply. She says repairs of boiler N1 will take about 3 days. Company has not informed about the harm and terms of resuming electricity supply. "The harm is being calculated. It's now difficult to say how long it will take to start turbines for resuming electricity supply", - company's representative said. Capacity of electrical and heat energy of AES Sogrinskaya TPS is 301.2 MWt. Main consumers are UKTMC and inhabitants of Sogra settlement - 75 apartment houses and 224 private houses. Besides Sogrinskaya TPS, AES corporation, which has been working on Kazakhstan market since 1996, owns Ust-Kamenogorskaya TPS in East- Kazakhstan oblast, and on concession terms - Shulbinskaya and Ust- Kamenogorskaya HS, controls two distributing companies. [2005-02-22]