China Yangtze Power to Invest in Siberian Hydropower Projects

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Oct. 13 – Russia’s second-largest electricity producer, EuroSibEnergo PLC, and hydropower producer China Yangtze Power Co. (CYPC), headquartered in Beijing, have signed a framework agreement of cooperation for the development of hydropower projects in Russia.

EuroSibEnergo, formerly called En+Power, is a subsidiary of EN+Group owned by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.

The company possesses 14 power stations in Siberia and is Russia’s largest privately controlled power operator. With a total capacity of 19.5 gigawatts, EuroSibEnergo generated almost 9 percent of the country’s electricity and produced 82.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity last year.

CYPC is China’s largest listed state-run hydropower corporation operating hydropower plants on the Yangtze River, including the world’s largest hydropower plant the Three Gorges Dam. The actual capacity under the company’s operation and management has reached 12.58 megawatts. The company sells its electricity mainly to central and eastern China.

The signed agreement of cooperation upgrades EuroSibEnergo’s power assets and the provides for the construction of new hydro power plants in Russia, with specific focus on Siberia, according to a company press release. These projects aim to feed the growing domestic demand for electricity anticipated in the region and to create additional capacity for power exports from Siberia to the northeastern regions of China.

“Russia, the Siberian region in particular, has significant undeveloped hydroelectric resources. This agreement strengthens energy cooperation between Russia and China,” said Andrey Likhachev, chairman of EuroSibEnergo.

“Russia has an abundant supply of hydro power resources and China has enormous demand for power. Our joint development of hydro power resource is strategically important for the business development of companies involved and also for Sino-Russian cooperation,” Cao Guangjing, CYPC chairman, said in a statement.

Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska is valuing his electricity producer EuroSibEnergo at around US$8 billion ahead of a planned Hong Kong initial public offer this autumn. EuroSibEnergo has hired China’s BOC International and Deutsche Bank AG as joint consultants to support its US$2 billion Hong Kong IPO, sources close to the deal told reporters earlier this year.