Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Viktor Koksharov chaired a cabinet meeting devoted to the state of the region’s water power engineering; in the course of the meeting, Deputy Minister for Industry, Power Engineering, and Science Yuri Shevelev presented his report on how efficiently the region had been complying with Sverdlovsk Region Government’s provision as of August 18, 2004 regarding the area’s top-priority mini hydroelectric power stations.

The Minister said their research indicated that putting up small-scale power generating facilities (with the capacity ranging from 100 kilowatts to 10 megawatts) next to prospective consumers would be the most expedient thing to do to make sure the Mid-Urals’ remote and often economically depressed areas get enough cheap electricity. The construction process could involve 14 power stations in the region’s eleven municipalities, namely, Asbest, Krasnoturinsk, Nevyansk, Nizhniy Tagil, Serov, Yekaterinburg, and Zarechniy, as well as Irbitskiy, Krasnoufimskiy, Prigorodniy, and Sysertskiy districts.

Viktor Koksharov suggested that the regional Ministry for Industry, Power Engineering, and Science should try and speed up the launch of these mini hydroelectric power stations.