MOSCOW, December 9Dagestan will not avoid power outages this winter, since the energy grid is in disrepair, but repair work is being carried out in the region to reduce the number of outages, the head of the republic, Sergei Melikov, said in an interview at the Russia exhibition and forum.
“If I say that it will be possible (to avoid emergency power outages), I will not be telling the truth. It probably won’t be possible, because the state of the energy network, the energy complex is such that it is simply impossible to assume the absence of accidents. The energy complex of Dagestan today is in emergency condition, this is necessary «Recognize and not be ashamed of this. You need to understand that people, ordinary people, residents of Makhachkala, Leninkent, mountain settlements where these blackouts occur, cannot be lied to,» Melikov said.
According to him, in previous years, “lower-level managers reported to middle-level managers, and they reported to the top that everything was fine with us”; at the same time not noticing dilapidated networks, supports and dilapidated transformer booths and thereby involving the republic’s energy sector in a state of collapse. Also playing an “evil role” was the unauthorized construction of a large number of apartment and private buildings, to which electricity was often supplied illegally.
“I perfectly understand a family whose refrigerator turns off in the summer when the heat is 40 degrees, and in this refrigerator the food that this family … has stocked up for 7-10 days in advance spoils. Or in winter, when the electricity in a house in a non-gas-free mountainous area is turned off, which is the only alternative, excuse me, except for dung, in order to heat this house. What should I tell these people? That they will live this winter without accidents? No, we will not be able to spend this winter without accidents,» repeated the head of the republic.
Melikov noted that in order to create conditions “acceptable for living,” money is needed for the reconstruction of emergency power grid facilities and time is needed to purchase and install new equipment. At the same time, he emphasized that now “repair and restoration work is being intensively carried out” in the republic.
«Of course, they (difficulties) must be overcome, and we will do everything for this. Once again I want to apologize to those people who will experience discomfort and problems during It’s winter time, but I hope that this winter there will be fewer of them (emergency shutdowns), and in the future we will minimize these problems,” added the head of the region.
In October, Melikov announced that this year Dagestan will be allocated an additional 1.2 billion rubles from the federal budget to prepare for winter. More than 500 million will be allocated from Rosseti funds. Total – 1.7 billion rubles, which, according to the head of the region, “is almost twice as much as last year, and almost 10 times more than in previous periods.” In addition, the federal budget for 2024-2026 plans to allocate funds in the amount of 9 billion rubles to improve the reliability of electricity supply in Dagestan.