Agenda: the status of preparations for winterising housing and utilities companies and power industry companies, subsidising low-cost loans to electronic industry companies, and budget allocations for providing equipment to medical organisations in the new regions.
Mikhail Mishustin’s opening remarks
Report by Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities Irek Faizullin
Report by Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev
Government meeting
Government meeting
Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities Irek Faizullin during the Government meeting
Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev during the Government meeting
Government meeting
From the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Good afternoon, colleagues.
We will begin this Government meeting with traditional reports related to the autumn and winter period. We will be talking about the housing and utilities sector, as well as the energy sector, and these enterprises’ readiness for winter.
The heating season is underway in all Russian regions, and it is critically important for the people to have uninterrupted access to heat and light, as well as hot and cold water.
Fuel reserves have been created for the boiler plants operated by the housing and utilities services. Resources for the power industry needs have been set aside as well.
I would like to turn a spotlight on the importance of ensuring full payment for fuel in preparation for the heating season to make sure that every activity that was carried out is properly accepted and paid for by the end of the year. I would like the relevant agencies to keep a close eye on this matter.
With regard to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation with ongoing infrastructure reconstruction efforts, much has been accomplished in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions to repair and renovate boiler plants and heating, water supply and sewage networks. More than 200 emergency recovery teams have been created that are directly involved in this work. Of course, it is important to continue to develop the infrastructure in these regions.
The autumn and winter period in the border areas is under special control. We will allocate more than 900 million roubles to the Kursk Region for it to purchase 37 modular boiler plants.
More details will be provided later by Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities Irek Faizullin and Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev.
Let’s move on to the next topic.
The Government continues to support Russian manufacturers, primarily manufacturers of high-tech products of their own design.
Subsidised loans to the electronic industry enterprises are among the most popular assistance mechanisms and are issued at an APR of up to 5%.
Today, we will allocate an additional 18.5 billion roubles to subsidise interest payments. In total, we will allocate about 30 billion roubles over three years.
This initiative is an important part of the decisions that were taken in accordance with the Presidential instructions and aimed at improving this industry of strategic importance. The President stressed that our country’s defence capability and security, its industrial and scientific potential, the state of infrastructure and the financial sector, as well as the quality of people’s lives largely depend on successful development of this industry.
I discussed in detail the Government’s steps in this area recently at an industry forum. I discuss this highly important subject during my working trips around the regions.
Colleagues, we need to be sensitive with regard to the changes that are taking place in microelectronics, both as part of feedback provided by enterprises and also based on the dynamics of anticipated demand for their products. We should also rely on the expert assessments of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and lead researchers and specialists which will make it possible to use every rouble from the budget in the most efficient way. And of course, it will contribute to achieving the goals set by the President to ensure our country’s industrial sovereignty.
The next point concerns our healthcare system.
As the President noted, it is important that our citizens receive high-quality, modern medical care regardless of where they live. Also, the level of socio-economic development in our new regions, must match the national level.
The Government is paying special attention to upgrading the medical infrastructure throughout the country, for which we are using a respective national project. Hospitals and outpatient clinics are being opened, and medical centres are being renovated as part of this project. They will be systematically equipped with all the necessary appliances, equipment and laboratories.
Earlier, we allocated over 530 million roubles for such purposes to the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.
Today, we are forwarding over 750 million roubles additionally to these Russian regions. These funds will be used to purchase medical equipment, primarily computerised tomography and magnetic resonance imaging devices, as well as X-ray machines.
We expect that government funding will accelerate the infrastructure upgrade in outpatient clinics and hospitals in those regions and make it possible to expand the opportunities for high-tech care and, most importantly, increase its accessibility, so that residents of cities and small towns could undergo the necessary examinations in a timely manner and receive qualified assistance and treatment.
Let’s go over to discussion. The Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities Irek Faizullin will report on the first issue. Then I will give the floor to Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev.
Mr Faizullin, please take the floor.
Irek Faizullin: Mr. Mishustin, colleagues,
The organisations responsible for housing and utilities, along with the regional authorities, have diligently prepared the housing facilities and infrastructure for the winter season. As of today, the heating period has commenced across all regions.
This year, particular emphasis was placed on the training of personnel from resource providers, managing organisations, and local authorities as part of the winter preparation efforts. Collaborating with the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Oversight (Rostekhnadzor), and regional authorities, comprehensive response plans have been developed, and emergency drills have been conducted in each region. Additionally, emergency response protocols have been developed and disseminated to local executives. Detailed explanations of the established requirements were provided during meetings of the winter preparation teams, which were regularly convened in partnership with the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation.
To enhance oversight of the heating period preparations, Duma deputies, in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, have adopted amendments mandating readiness for winter. These amendments also require the compulsory involvement of representatives from Rostekhnadzor and state housing supervision bodies in the assessment of preparedness. These new requirements are taking effect this year.
Currently, the overall readiness level of apartment buildings stands at 99 percent, while social and cultural facilities are 99.8 percent prepared. The utility infrastructure’s readiness exceeds 99 percent, with 161,200 kilometres of heating networks, 685,000 kilometres of water supply and sewage networks, and 72,500 boiler houses duly prepared. All preparations are scheduled for completion by the end of this month. Essential fuel reserves have been fully established, with coal at 125 percent and liquid fuel at 130 percent of the standard levels, reflecting the national average. Coal supplies to the Trans-Baikal Territory are nearing completion.
Rostekhnadzor has issued readiness certificates to 3,017 municipalities. Regions are actively addressing the deficiencies identified by Rostekhnadzor in municipalities that have yet to receive readiness certificates. Overall, the regions of the country have allocated 283 billion roubles from their own resources to prepare for the heating season.
The Government provides annual support to the regions in their preparations for the autumn and winter period. This year, under your instruction, Mr. Mishustin, 5 billion roubles have already been allocated to three regions, with decisions regarding additional regions currently under consideration.
In recent years, substantial support has been extended to the utilities sector through ongoing federal projects and programmes. Systematic efforts in the development of the housing and utilities sector will continue under the Infrastructure for Life national project, initiated by Presidential Executive Order No. 309. This initiative aims to deliver a new quality of infrastructure to the public through a comprehensive programme to modernise the housing and utilities sector.
The new regions will also engage in the national project’s initiatives, which aim to elevate their social and economic development to the national average by 2030.
I would like to highlight that with the direct involvement of sponsoring regions, extensive winter preparations have been conducted in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions. The overall readiness level has surpassed 99 percent, with the works nearing completion. Mr. Mishustin, as you have previously noted, emergency response and restoration teams have been assembled, consisting of 212 crews with 1,901 specialists and 417 equipment units.
Following the President’s instruction, the winter preparations in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk Regions are under special scrutiny. Presently, in collaboration with the border regions, proposals have been drafted to allocate funds for additional equipment for emergency crews, as well as financial assistance for resource providers in specific residential areas where full preparations could not be conducted due to operational circumstances. As you have mentioned, the proposals pertaining to the Kursk Region will be considered at today’s Government meeting.
In summary, we are closely monitoring and working with the regions and resource providers. We maintain constant collaboration with all stakeholders involved in the process, ensuring that all issues are promptly addressed with the regions.
Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you, Mr Faizullin.
I now give the floor to Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev. Go ahead, please.
Sergei Tsivilev: Mr Mishustin, colleagues.
Utilities across the country have completed preparations for the autumn and winter period. The heating season is proceeding smoothly, with energy consumption up more than 3 percent since the beginning of the year. We expect this trend to continue throughout the autumn and winter period, which will create additional loads on power grids and generating equipment.
The Ministry of Energy, together with the regions and energy companies, has established procedures for ensuring reliable power supply to consumers. A comprehensive map of accident risks has been drawn up, along with response plans and a list of compensatory measures. A nationwide emergency drill has been conducted to identify flaws and rule out accidents during the autumn-winter period.
On 5 November, the electric power industry entities received their reliability assessment results. All the backbone companies were approved for the heating season and awarded certificates of operational assessment and readiness.
A few smaller utilities were deemed unprepared, but I have to mention several large power plants as well – the Yuzhno-Kuzbasskaya SDPP, Primorskaya SDPP, and Omskaya TPP-5.
The utilities that failed their reliability assessment will continue to follow the established procedures they need to complete no later than the end of November, under the regional authorities’ supervision.
More than 23,000 teams of over 150,000 people and more than 60,000 units of equipment have been created for emergency response to accidents.
Generating companies have stocked up enough fuel and confirmed that they are ready to maintain their reserves at the required level. The required energy resources have been timely delivered and stockpiled as part of the Norther Supply Haul.
The investment and repair programmes are nearing completion. The total amount of funding for these activities will reach about 1.6 trillion roubles this year.
In the current heating season, the Energy Ministry is keeping under close review the energy systems of the Far East, southeastern Siberia, Russia’s southern regions, Dagestan, the new and border regions, as well as the Kaliningrad Region, as the Baltic States will disconnect from the [BRELL] energy ring on 8 February 2025.
The programme to improve the reliability of generating equipment and thermal power plants in the Far East until 2029 continues. On 1 January, market mechanisms will be launched for raising investment in modernising generation facilities in the Far East and building new ones, which will allow for selecting contractors to build generation facilities for the eastern energy system through a bidding procedure. To cover the projected capacity deficit in the UES of Siberia, decisions were made to build 1305 MW of additional generation capacity.
New power supply regulations have been enacted to accommodate [crypto] mining loads. This should solve the problem of uncontrolled rises in consumption in energy-deficient regions. In particular, the plan is to ban mining in the southeastern part of the Irkutsk Region, in Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory in autumn and winter.
The Government Commission on Electric Power Development has approved plans for the construction of generating facilities to address the projected capacity deficit of approximately 1.9 GW in the southern united energy system by 2030. A portion of this capacity will be provided through rapidly deployed mobile generation units, ensuring the required capacity reserve is in place for 2025–2026.
Programmes to enhance the reliability of the distribution grid are being implemented in 11 regions of the Russian Federation. Starting next year, these programmes will be extended to four additional regions: the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Preparatory work is being carried out according to approved plans, with progress currently at 98 percent for electricity and 96 percent for gas supply.
The heating season is being carried out under challenging conditions in the border areas – Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk regions. To ensure prompt emergency recovery operations at electrical grid facilities, dedicated teams have been assembled, along with an enhanced stock of equipment and materials.
Since 1 September of this year, the system-forming territorial grid organisations have been operational. These organisations have been designated as centres of responsibility for ensuring reliable electricity supply. Their primary functions include upkeep of unmanaged electricity grids and emergency response to accidents on alien grids, as directed by regional headquarters.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasise that the measures taken by the electric power industry companies will ensure the reliable operation of generating equipment, power grids, and personnel throughout the winter season. The Ministry of Energy will continuously monitor the stable functioning of the entire energy system and the reliable supply of energy to consumers.
Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you, colleagues.
I urge everyone to personally oversee matters related to preparation for the heating season.
