Russian energy sector has faced high costs of domestic equipment after years of reliance on imports. Now, the dependence on foreign technologies must be reduced, but quickly replacing imports has proven difficult.
Yury Malyavkin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SGK, attributed the high cost per kilowatt to expensive lending. He called real interest rates in Russia among the highest in the world.
Russian equipment costs twice as much, and delivery times are delayed by two and a half years. And no one is surprised by this.
Another problem is service. The inter-service intervals of Russian turbines are shorter than Western counterparts, and repairs take longer.
As a result, the equipment is ready for operation about 70% of the time, compared to 95% for foreign installations. This increases costs and reduces capacity payments.