The Reftinskaya GRES coal-fired power plant has been in operation since late 1970

Reftinskaya GRES thermal plant

Image: The Reftinskaya GRES power plant is located 100 km northeast from Yekaterinburg, and 18km from Asbest. Photo: courtesy of PJSC Enel Russia.

Enel Russia has signed a sale-purchase agreement with Kuzbassenergo to sell its 3.8GW Reftinskaya GRES coal-fired power plant in Russia to the latter for about RUB21bn (£260m).

Details of Reftinskaya GRES power plant

Located in Reftinsky settlement in Sverdlovsk region, Reftinskaya GRES is the largest coal-fired power plant in the country. The power plant, which has an installed thermal capacity of 350 Gcal/h, comprises six 300MW units and four 500MW units.

The power generated by the Reftinskaya GRES plant can meet nearly 40% of the total electricity demand in Sverdlovsk, said Enel Russia.

Reftinskaya GRES, which uses Ekibastuz stone coal as a main fuel, provides electricity to consumers of the Ural region by transmitting its power into the Unified Power System of Russia. It has been generating power since December 1970.

The power plant broke ground in 1963 and was developed in two stages with the first being the commissioning of six units of 300MW each with direct-flow double-furnace boilers having 950t/h of evaporating capacity. The second stage saw the commissioning of four units of 500MW each with direct flow boilers having 1,650t/h of evaporating capacity.

The sale of the coal-fired power plant includes all of its property, which includes movable and immovable assets, raw materials, stocks of coal, and spare parts.

Enel, in a statement, said: “The sale and purchase agreement shall enter into effect once Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service approves the transaction, and the terms and conditions of the transaction are approved by Enel Russia’s Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting to be held on July 22nd, 2019.

“The expected timeline for the transfer of Reftinskaya GRES ownership to JSC “Kuzbassenergo” is within 18 months from the entry into effect of the sale-purchase agreement.”

Kuzbassenergo is a Russian energy company owned by Siberian Generating Company (SGC). Considered to be a major operator in the Russian electricity and heat markets, SGC has a total installed capacity of 10.9 GW and a thermal capacity of 23,900 Gcal/h.

The company’s heat distribution network spans 9,624km while its power plants produce close to 23–25% of the power and heat generation in the Siberian energy system.