Putin warns of gas shortages, power grid vulnerabilities Points to Russia’s coal reserves

At the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted growing concerns in Russia’s energy sector, including risks of gas shortages, gaps in infrastructure connectivity, and the need to modernise the national power grid.

“These are issues that demand close attention,” Putin said, warning that the country’s gas supply remains vulnerable and parts of the energy system require urgent development, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

However, the president also pointed to Russia’s vast coal reserves as a stabilising factor. He said the country possesses coal of various grades that could last almost a thousand years.

“These reserves could be used much more efficiently, with higher output while meeting all environmental standards,” Putin added.

Russia’s commercial coal reserves are concentrated across 22 basins and 146 deposits, totalling nearly 273 billion tonnes, with around 70% in the Kansko-Achinsk, Kuznetsk, and Irkutsk basins.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has previously noted that production capacities already allow for increased output, and government projections anticipate coal production rising to 530 million tonnes by 2030 and 662 million tonnes by 2050.

The coal sector faced challenges in 2024, recording a loss of 129 billion roubles, down from a profit of 357 billion roubles in 2023, while revenue fell from 2.2 trillion to 1.8 trillion roubles.

The Ministry of Energy projects further losses and reduced revenue in the current year, although production remained at 443.5 million tonnes.

By Aghakazim Guliyev