Biodiversity conservation
The Rosseti Group places a high priority on maintaining natural ecosystems responsibly, protecting endan‑gered plant and animal species — including those covered by the International Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Russian Federation Red Book, and the red books of the Rus‑sian Federation’s constituent entities — and their habitats.
The Company’s first priority in conserving biodiversity is to take measures to prevent negative impacts. Since 2009, environmental monitoring has been conducted in the Smolny National Park (Republic of Mordovia) in the area where the 500 kV OTL running through. Its purpose was to assess the species diversity, number of birds, and spatial distribution over the particular areas located within the boundaries of the 500 kV OTL routes: Veshkaima – Arzamasskaya and Veshkaima – Osinovka.
The Company’s activities and infrastructure related to power transmission and distribution may adversely affect the population of many bird species. To minimise this risk, PJSC Rosseti permanently furnishes power transmission lines with bird diverters: not only do they help prevent bird deaths and injuries, but they also cut down on the number of equipment failures. The Company pays special attention to regions that are home to rare and endangered species, such as Ciconia nigra, Ciconia ciconia, Ciconia boyciana, Aquila chrysaetos, Haliaeetus albicilla, Pandion haliaetus, Anthropoides virgo, etc. The recommendations of ecol‑ogists and ornithologists are used to select the locations of bird diverters.
In 2023, PJSC Rosseti ranked among the top‑3 Russian companies with the highest focus on biodiversity conservation.
RAEX Agency published the ESG ranking against Biodiversity Conservation. Experts reviewed 160 Russian companies and selected 50 practices to analyse. In the final ranking, PJSC Rosseti ranked second.
In 2023, the Rosseti Group installed about 166,000 new bird diverters. The cost of their installation totalled more than RUB 667 million, which is 6% more than in the previous reporting period.
PJSC Rosseti endeavours to prevent or mitigate negative impacts on natural ecosystems. Alongside that, the Company focuses on compensating for damage to biodiversity that may have been directly or indirectly contributed to by its operations. For example, in 2023, as part of compensation measures, 40 biotechnical facilities were installed in the Krymsky district of the Krasnodar Territory. Those include invertebrate habitat facilities, nesting sites for small birds (Passeriformes and Falconiformes), and artificial burrows for reptiles and amphibians.
PJSC Rosseti, together with territorial departments of the Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo), releases young Salmo, Acipenser, Acipenser ruthenus, Thymallus, and Coregonus peled into water bodies located near electric grid facilities. In 2023, the number of fry released totalled 131,590.
Biodiversity of the Trans‑Baikal Territory
In order to preserve rare and protected plant species in the Trans‑Baikal Territory, the Company undertook the following in 2023:
- Planting 44 specimens of milk‑flower peony, which is listed in the Red Book of Russia. The plants were taken from the collection of the Trans‑Baikal Botanical Garden.
- Planting eight species of plants listed in the Trans‑Baikal Red Book (including Lilium pensylvánicum, Atragene ochotensis, Hemerocallis minor, and others) along the route of high‑voltage power transmission lines. These unique plants were planted in places where their natural habitat was discovered during environmental engineering surveys.
- Arranging sites for ecological monitoring of vegetation. The composition of the flora has been thoroughly studied, from assessing cover to analysing plant viability and phenology, as well as stages of recreational degradation.
