Joint training exercise of JSC “MOESK” and bodies of state power in technological disturbances response during the fire danger period was carried out in the south of Greater Moscow Area

Dispatching and operating personnel of Southern Electric Grids, a branch of JSC “MOESK”, representatives of all the above mentioned organizations and contractors participated in the exercise.

The goal of the training exercise was practicing response actions in a specific emergency situation. The concept of the exercise was that the electrical equipment of 220 kV “Gulevo” supplying center was damaged due to a fire outbreak and “Severovo”, “Klimovskaya”, “Vesennyaya” and “Lagovskaya” substations were de-energized. Due to the fact that the allowable carrying capacity of 35 kV HV line “Asanovo-Yelizarovo” was exceeded, electricity transmission to “Domodedovskaya”, “Yelizarovo”, “Ershovka” and “Epifanovka” supplying centers was disrupted.

According to the idea of the exercise, 52 settlements were de-energized. 274 socially important and vital infrastructure facilities were left without electricity: 26 facilities of Podolsky distribution zone, 33 facilities of OJSC “Repair and construction enterprise”, 73 facilities of municipal unitary enterprise “Podolskaya power grid”, 9 facilities of Domodedovsky distribution zone, 22 facilities of JSC “Power grid of Domodedovo urban district”, 58 facilities of Naro-Fominsky distribution zone, “Central” branch of JSC Oboronenergo, 62 facilities of municipal unitary enterprise “Power grid” of the town of Klimovsk.

In order to respond to technological disturbances affecting power engineering facilities, Southern Electric Grids management decided to establish an operations center of SEG in the town of Podolsk headed by Mikhail Yezhokin, Director of Southern Electric Grids. A similar operations center headed by Anatoly Chegodaev, First Deputy General Director and Chief Engineer of JSC “MOESK”, starts working in Moscow. Actions of MOESK specialists, bodies of state power, local self-government bodies and other organizations are coordinated by operations center for ensuring accident-free supply of electricity to consumers in the Moscow Region headed by Leonid Neganov, Minister of Energy of the Moscow Region.

In order to notify the members of the operations center of a meeting, “Zvonar” automatic system was introduced and functions smoothly. Under the most difficult scenario, the system phones the members within the period of 10-15 minutes with confirmation of receipt of the call.

The training exercise was near-real time. In this situation the power companies must as soon as possible shift to the backup scheme of supplying electricity to consumers, energize socially important facilities using mobile power stations, repair the damage and restore power supply using the normal scheme.

In the course of the tabletop exercise there was simulated the specific task of extinguishing the fire at an electrical substation and near a high-voltage power transmission line.

In carrying out the activities to respond to the technological disturbances there were used all types of special machinery in the arsenal of SEG and contractors, municipalities of Klimovsk and Podolsk, Podolsky and Domodedovsky districts, EMERCOM and Federal state institution “Unit No. 24 of the Federal Fire-Fighting Service” for the Moscow Region. MOESK used 19 mobile power stations with the capacity 100 - 640 kVA to energize socially important and vital infrastructure facilities.

Leonid Neganov, Minister of Energy of the Moscow Region, emphasized that the purpose of carrying out such training exercises is practicing interaction of structural subdivisions of the electric grid company and municipalities, urban districts and local electric grid organizations in the situation when electricity supply to many consumers is disrupted. The lessons learns from such activities by all participants are very important for emergency situations and everyday work.

Based on results of the exercises, it was noted that the system-wide joint training exercise makes it possible to identify and eliminate the weaknesses and improve the promptness and consistency of joint actions in emergency situations in order to minimize as much as possible the impact of technological disturbances on consumers.

JSC “Moscow United Electric Grid Company” established a Commission for prevention and response to emergency situations and ensuring the fire safety (the Commission). The Commission is an organizing and coordinating body that develops, early enough, a set of measures on preventing and responding to emergency situations and ensuring the fire safety, organizes and monitors their implementation.

Annually the Company carries out a tabletop exercise with the participation of dispatching and repair services of JSC “MOESK”, local self-government bodies, EMERCOM territorial bodies and law enforcement agencies to respond to technological disturbances affecting facilities of JSC “MOESK”.