Kumertau CHP power station

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Kumertau CHP power station (Кумертауская ТЭЦ) is an operating power station of at least 120-megawatts (MW) in Kumertau, Bashkortostan, Russia with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Kumertau CHP power station	Kumertau, Bashkortostan, Russia	52.772112, 55.820478 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1, Unit 2: 52.772112, 55.820478
• Unit 5, Unit 6: 52.77369, 55.81758

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	CHP	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	retired	coal - waste coal, bioenergy - agricultural waste (solids), fossil gas - natural gas	60	subcritical	–	1965	2023
Unit 1	retired	coal - waste coal, bioenergy - agricultural waste (solids), fossil gas - natural gas	60	subcritical	–	1965	2023
Unit 2	retired	coal - waste coal, bioenergy - agricultural waste (solids), fossil gas - natural gas	60	subcritical	–	1970	2023
Unit 2	retired	coal - waste coal, bioenergy - agricultural waste (solids), fossil gas - natural gas	60	subcritical	–	1970	2023
Unit 5	operating	gas, heavy fuel oil, coal	60	steam turbine	yes	1965	–
Unit 6	operating	gas, heavy fuel oil, coal	60	steam turbine	yes	1970	–

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	Kumertautskaya TeTS LLC [100.0%]	–
Unit 1	–	–
Unit 2	Kumertautskaya TeTS LLC [100.0%]	–
Unit 2	–	–
Unit 5	Kumertautskaya TeTS LLC	Kumertau Briquette Factory LLC [90.0%]
Unit 6	Kumertautskaya TeTS LLC	Kumertau Briquette Factory LLC [90.0%]

Unit-level fuel conversion details:

Unit 2: Unknown or atypical conversion status Unit 1: Unknown or atypical conversion status

Background

The power station began operations in 1954. It consists of 2 turbine units and 4 boiler units, connected through a cross-link system. Both operating turbines have capacity of 60 MW.

The power station is unique as it is capable of burning natural and waste gas, fuel oil, coal, production wastes of the briquette factory - "sludge" as process fuel, and a renewable fuel source such as granulated husk - sunflower processing waste from oil extraction plants.

The plant produced 429 million kWh of electricity in 2021 and 409 million kWh in 2022.

Fuel Mix

The main fuel used to be lignite coal from Bashkortostan. In an interview from February 2019, the company also stated that it used coal from Tulgansky coal mine that closed in 2018. As of 2019, 70% of fuel requirements were met by gas and 20% by coal including coal sludge from the sludge pits of Kumertau briquette factory. In 2021 the company reported that 32% of the fuel requirements came from natural gas, 25% from associated gas, 38.2% from lignite coal and 4.7% from sunflower husk. In 2022 the fuel balance changed in favour of gas with 67% of the fuel requirements covered by natural gas, 13.8% by associated gas, 19.2% by lignite coal and 0.2% from sunflower husk.

Coal suppliers in 2021 were Orenburgugol JSC and Promtechugol LLC. In 2022 - only Promtechugol LLC.

Given consistent history of the plant using mostly gas for several years, it is considered mainly gas-fired, as of January 2024.

Ownership

The station is owned by Kumertautskaya TeTS LLC that used to be owned by Bashkir Generation Company, but was sold to Sverdlovsk Energogazovaya Company («Свердловская энергогазовая компания») for 84.7 million roubles in 2016. However in 2020 the ownership changed and as of May 2023, 90% of the company belonged to Kumertau Briquette Factory and 10% to the municipal company Lokomotiv. In May 2023, the 10% municipal share was sold to Stroy-Region, however it was not clear whether this went ahead as later sources still referred to MP Lokomotiv as the 10% shareholder.

Financial Challenges

The power plant was loss-making in 2021 and 2022 due to insufficient tariffs and accumulating debt levels.

In December 2023, reports indicated financial challenges of the plant. These difficulties stemmed from the tariff established in 2020 and subsequent years, which failed to cover the expenses of heat production at the Kumeratau CHP power station. As a result, losses accrued, leading to the accumulation of debt owed to LLC Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Ufa LLC for the gas purchased. Repayment of the debt to Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Ufa LLC is regularly attempted through the revenue generated from energy sales. However, these funds are insufficient due to additional company expenditures. As a result, Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Ufa LLC filed a bankruptcy case against the power station, as per media reports from December 2023.

Additionally, the Kumeratau plant serves as the exclusive heat supply source for the city of Kumeratau in the Republic of Bashkortostan, providing thermal energy to Kumeratau Heat Networks LLC. Unfortunately, timely settlements between Kumeratau Heat Networks LLC and Kumertautskaya TeTS LLC have not been maintained, resulting in a debt of 109 million rubles as of December 1, 2023. Consequently, for three years, Kumertautskaya TeTS LLC has faced a challenging financial situation, unable to fully meet its obligations to the gas supplier.

Potential Retirement

A media article from October 2022 referred to the planned closure of the plant, with a project to decentralize the heat supply and build several module boiler houses run on natural gas. It appeared that the project was endorsed via a decree by the government of the Republic of Bashkortostan in May, 2022 and should have commenced in October 2022. A concession was planned to be awarded to build the boiler houses.

However, the System Operator's document published in early 2023 did not list the planned retirement of the plant, with both 60 MW units expected to remain. A media source from May 2023 further described changes to initial plan to retire the plant, stating that for now it will remain operational while the construction of the bloc-modular boiler houses may be undertaken as needed.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datases, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.