«ТГК-1» открыла Аллею Энергетиков в честь 75-летия прорыва энергетической блокады Ленинграда

Special events were held in Volhov, Leningrad Oblast, in honour of the 75th anniversary of the breach of the Leningrad energy blockade. Management of TGC-1, directors of the company's CHPPs and HPPs, regional government officials came to pay tribute to the memory of power specialists. The participants of celebrations planted evergreen thujas on Power Specialists Alley next to the Monument in honour of the builders and power specialists of Volhovskaya HPP.

"Power specialists performed a Great Feat 75 years ago, its memory will always live!  Five lines of cable, laid from Volhovskaya HPP on the bottom of Ladoga Lake, brought life to the city, gave the opportunity to fight and survive. Light was brought back to the houses of Leningrad citizens giving the hope for victory. The alley we are creating today is the tribute to all energy specialists who worked during the war," said Alexey Barvinok, General Director of TGC-1.

Tatyana Kosourova was a special guest at the event, she is the daughter of Nikodim Tumanov, the author of the cable laying project on the bottom of Ladoga Lake. She gifted to the Museum of Volhovskaya HPP her father's memoir book "Ladoga.  Five threads of life".

"A museum is created to enrich its collection. In our family we kept diaries, charts, photos – all of them are in that book. The history continues to live!" noted Tatyana Kosourova.

Volhovskaya HPP recovery and electricity transfer from the plant to besieged Leningrad was a unique operation. 

By August 1941, all HPPs in the Leningrad Oblast had been disrupted, including Volhovskaya HPP. Under a resolution of the State Defence Committee, the equipment of the power facility was dismantled and transported to the Urals and Central Asia. The plant was mined and, in the event of surrender Volhov to the enemy, it was to be destroyed. As soon as the railway trains with equipment reached the destination for evacuation, the order was received to return – the siege of Leningrad began and the city needed energy. In December 1941, the resolution on Volhovskaya HPP recovery was adopted. In early February 1942, the carriages with the equipment were returned and the first generating units were already assembled in May. In September 1942, a complicated scheme of electricity transmission to Leningrad was put into action, including cable laying on the bottom of Ladoga Lake.

Over 100 km of cable was produced in the besieged city under enemy artillery fire.  It took only 45 days, mainly at night time, to lay the first of five electricity transmission lines at the depth of 18–20 meters on the bottom of Ladoga Lake. On 23 September 1942, the electricity from Volhovskaya HPP was received in Leningrad. Until the end of 1943, the plant transferred more than 25 million kWh of electricity.

Reference

Volhovskaya HPP is the first project under GOELRO plan and the oldest operating hydroelectric power station in Russia. It is the cultural heritage site – the historic monument. At present, the plant is an important power centre providing a reliable supply of energy to consumers in the Leningrad Oblast. The installed capacity of Volhovskaya HPP is 86 MW, long-term average electricity output – 382.5 million kWh.

TGC-1is the leading producer and supplier of electricity and heat in the Northwest of Russia. TGC-1 comprises electric power plants within four entities of the Russian Federation: St. Petersburg, Republic of Karelia, the Leningrad Oblast, and the Murmansk Oblast. The Company implements social responsibility programme by supporting charity projects, sporting and cultural events in all regions of its presence.