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Kaunas Heat and Power Plant: Mayor’s Statement is Far from Reality
2010-05-20
The major heat producer in the city considers the statements of Andrius Kupčinskas, the Mayor of Kaunas Heat and Power Plant (KHPP), regarding the execution of investment obligations of the power plant as being far from reality.
Sudden mayor’s statements infer that KHPP possibly unilaterally is bringing to a halt any further investment into the power plant and it poses a risk of city freezing during the heating season.
“Statement is beyond the reality and is completely incomprehensible. It resembles empty politicking. KHPP is ready both to invest and to ensure reliable provision of heat to the city consumers. There are no assumptions that during the heating season the city would get frozen due to our fault, as the mayor states”, stated the Head of KHPP Antanas Pranculis.
KHPP generates heat to the city since 2003 when the thermal power plant was acquired by the Russian gas concern GAZPROM. Over this period there were no incidents or accidents at the power plant. It has been for five years that KHPP applied the lowest heat price in Lithuania, as it undertook to do so under investment agreements.
According to Mr Pranculis, the current power plant will be in non-compliance with the EU environmental requirements from 2016 only. However, already in 2013 a new modern cogeneration power plant will come into operation, into the construction of which KHPP, together with the Western partners, injects almost 1 billion litas, thrice as more as it had been agreed with Kauno energija. Once the new power plant is brought into operation, the heat to Kaunas consumers will be likely to get cheaper by 20 %.
KHPP is also ready to equip biofuel incineration plant close to the cogeneration power plant. This would allow to reduce environmental pollution in the city and diversify the risks of possible fuel supply disruptions.
Mr Pranculis expressed his regrets that instead of supporting the investment project, which would raise the reliability of heat supply, the city heads instead are impeding the process by making the statements lacking any economic logic. It has been for two years already that the signing of the investment agreement with Kauno energija on the construction of the new cogeneration power plant is encountering such obstacle.
“And not the energy experts, but some irresponsible politicians strive for the reoccurrence of the well-known accident in Telšiai”, said Mr Pranculis.
In addition, he emphasises that the demand for the investment among the Lithuanian power plants is controlled by the National Control Commission for Prices and Energy and the State Energy Inspectorate.
For more information:
Žilvaras Zinkevičius
Project manager
Public Relations Agency “Avenire”
Mob. +370 603 30255;
Tel./fax. +370 5 2608441
E-mail: zilvaras@avenire.lt