Worn-Out Pipes Cause Heating Outage in Yaroslavl Oblast

In Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, on 2 February, the Severny microdistrict was left without heating – more than 30 houses were in the outage zone. The production and technical department of Yaroblvodokanal (Yaroslavl Oblast Water Canal) said on 1 February that the cause was dilapidated pipes. Specialists found a leak in the heat chamber between houses No. 3 and 5 on Liza Chaykina Street during an inspection on the evening of 30 January.

«The inspection revealed multiple defects on pipelines with diameters from 200 to 400 mm. This situation is due to critical wear and tear and the dilapidation of the distribution networks in this section,» said Teploresurs Rybinsk (Rybinsk Heat Resource).

They decided not to repair the pipes over the weekend. This was explained by several reasons. Among them, the company said that due to frost below -20 °C (-4 °F), the temperature of the heat carrier was raised above 100 °C (212 °F). Working with such steam in a closed chamber is dangerous for personnel.

«The main stage of the accident elimination is scheduled for Monday, 2 February. The shutdown will start at 5:30 a.m. During the repair, 23 residential buildings and 4 social facilities will be without heating and hot water. 25 houses and 13 social facilities have been switched to reduced parameters of heat carrier supply. We work with an extremely worn-out network infrastructure – this is a fact that we acknowledge. However, the professionalism of the repair and emergency teams allows us to act in a controlled manner, not chaotically,» said in the utility workers« message from 1 February.

Welding work was planned to be completed by 19:00 on 2 February.

According to data from the production and technical department of Yaroblvodokanal, in the end, more than 30 houses were left without heating during the repair.

Where heating was cut off in Rybinsk:

Lenin Ave., 148;

G. Uspenskogo St., 2, 4, 6, 7a, 7b;

Ak. Gubkina St., 7, 9, 11;

Molodezhnaya St. 7 (entrance from L. Chaykina), 9/7, 8, 10, 16;

Molodogvardeytsev St., 1/12, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9;

L. Chaykina St. 5a (building 2), 5, 11, 11a;

Z. Kosmodemyanskoy St., 2a, 26, 30;

Rapova St., 6, 7, 8, 9.

Also, due to the repairs, a decrease in water and heating temperature is possible in some houses.

G. Uspenskogo St., 6a, 6b, 4a (garages);

Ak. Gubkina St., 3v, 1/11, 2, 3;

Molodezhnaya St., 2, 4, 6, 5, 7, 11, 13, 20, 21;

L. Chaykina St., 2/5, 3, 3a, 3a, 6, 6a;

Z. Kosmodemyanskoy St., 4;

Rapova St., 1, 2, 3, 4, 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a;

Naberezhnaya St., 195, 197;

Bratyev Orlovykh St., 5.

In the morning of 2 February, specialists had already opened the heat chamber.

«Currently, with the involvement of special equipment, channel drainage is being performed. At the moment, two defects have been confirmed, but a final assessment of the pipeline condition and determination of the full scope of necessary work will only be possible after pumping out the heat carrier and drying the section,» said Teploresurs Rybinsk.

Rybinsk Mayor Dmitry Rudakov has taken control of the situation. According to him, the city has engaged additional resources, including special equipment, to speed up the work.

Residents of Rybinsk are already accustomed to heating problems – the dilapidation of pipes in the city has been discussed for more than a year. People even complained to the governor that due to the cold, they had to sleep dressed.

In 2019, Rybinsk residents had hope – a concession agreement was coordinated between MUP «Teploenergo» (Municipal Unitary Enterprise «Teploenergo») and LLC «Rybinskaya Generatsiya» (Rybinsk Generation) – a subsidiary of JSC «TGK-2» (Thermal Generation Company-2). Under the contract, Rybinsk boiler houses and heating networks were to be transferred to «Rybinskaya Generatsiya» for 20 years, which promised to invest in reconstruction, pay off debts, and then profit from the sale and supply of heat energy. But in the end, the story escalated into a criminal case, with defendants including a deputy, the former first deputy head of Rybinsk, and the son of a Yaroslavl deputy.

About everything known about bribes for heating in Rybinsk, we tell in a special report.