PRESS RELEASE
Russia Completes Energy Bridge to Crimea Before Time
May 13, 2016 (EIRNS)—Working at a rapid pace, Russian engineers and technicians have completed full integration of Crimea to Russia’s power supply. An energy bridge now connects the mainland with the peninsula with a series of undersea cables running across the Kerch Strait.
The new line is providing Crimea with total power supply of 800 megawatts a day. Following its integration with Russia in March 2014, Crimea remained dependent on Ukraine for power supply. But Crimea was plunged into darkness in November, when, according to Ukrainian officials, "unidentified individuals" blew up power lines linking the peninsula to the Ukrainian grid.
RT reported that Russian President Putin congratulated the Russian workforce on the speedy before-time completion of the power supply integration. Putin, who oversaw the launch of the energy bridge by video link from the Black Sea resort of Sochi, said
"The energy bridge across the Kerch Strait was technically a very difficult project and you used the very latest technologies in this work. The work itself proceeded at a truly rapid pace with the result that we have ended the energy blockade of Crimea in a very short time. I have no doubt that we would succeed in breaking through any kind of blockade, should anyone take it into their heads to test us,"
RT reported.
According to Reuters, the next phase to tie Crimea and Russia together will be a 12 mile-long road and rail bridge project across the Kerch Strait. The road and rail bridge will be the longest of its kind in Europe, and is scheduled for completion at the end of 2019
