In Belarus: Warm Hands Do Better Work

Things have changed a lot for Valeriy Starovoytov in his 16 years as a power plant operator in Mogilev, Belarus’ fourth largest city.  Starovoytov works at Mogilev TES-3, one of the city’s six combined heat and power houses, a key utility in a place where the temperature can fall to minus 25 degrees Celsius and the winters are long.  Mogilev has a population about 400,000, and it has been a busy market town for six centuries. Today, the city is a bustling place with a number of machine-building factories.

Starovoytov has always liked his job, and he is proud of providing vital power to his city, but work at his power plant has become especially pleasant lately. “I’ve been through different times at this company,” Starovoytov says, “but after we launched all the repairs, the working conditions are much better. The entire plant looks brand new; and it became more comfortable to work in.”  

The TES-3 upgrade in Mogilev is part of the US$125 million World Bank-supported large-scale Energy Efficiency Project in Belarus. In total, six boiler plants are being converted into combined heat and power plants using eco-friendly gas engine and combined cycle gas turbine plant technologies.  

At the TES-3 plant, total efficiency improved from 55.4% before the project, to 89% after the upgrades. In addition, CO2 emissions are expected to drop by at least 10 tons a year.

More Jobs, Better Working Conditions

Dmitriy Bashkirov, who runs Mogilev TES-3 says, “the objective was to increase energy efficiency at our plant here. In line with a modernization project we’ve developed, we purchased, installed and launched modern equipment, including two gas turbines, a steam turbine, brand new modern boilers and various auxiliary equipment.” Bashkirov says the number of people needed to run the new equipment has gone up, from 66 workers before the modernization to 98 jobs today.

“We are extremely happy for our personnel,” says the Mogilev Heating Network’s director, Viktor Solonovich.  “With all the refurbishment works, they now have excellent working conditions. They feel attached to their place of work. Everyone received the necessary training in order to be able to operate the new sophisticated equipment.” 

Energy experts say they expect the city of Mogilev to keep growing, so demand is certain to rise.  The next stage of the World Bank-MogilevEnergo partnership is the renovation of an 80 year old boiler that will provide steady, reliable energy to more of the city’s residents.