As a power grid company and system operator, KEGOC has no significant impact on fauna and flora.
To manage environmental risks during the design stage of power grid facilities, overhead line routes and substation sites are prohibited from passing through settlement lands and territories, including those designated for future development of villages, settlements and cities, as well as those intended for agricultural development, natural reserves, forest farms, water protection zones, irrigated farmlands, specially protected territories and cultural heritage sites. The majority of the overhead lines travel through steppe and semi-desert areas.
When any construction or reconstruction projects are being considered, public hearings or debates on the project EIA are required. The EIA considers all processes that could have a substantial environmental impact on the planned activity, such as air, water bodies, and groundwater, terrain, biodiversity conservation, and wildlife. Project risks are identified and assessed on a continual basis and at all phases of project implementation. PESTEL analysis is used to assess project hazards, including social and environmental concerns. The results of the environmental impact assessment, including biodiversity, are considered, and the alternative that causes the least environmental harm is chosen.
The beneficial influence of KEGOC on biodiversity is that it promotes the conservation of traditional habitats in power line right-of-ways and sanitary zones near substations.
According to global studies, power lines with voltages ranging from 0.4 to 10 kV are hazardous to birds due to the short distances between the earthed cross-arm or other earthed areas of the transmission tower and live conductors. Birds can cause a fatal short-circuit when they brush an earthed cross-arm and a live conductor while lifting off or flying by.
99.4% of KEGOC's overhead lines are high-voltage lines of 110 kV or above, with a minimum distance of 1.5 metres between earthed and current-carrying parts of the overhead lines. As a result, such line design effectively eliminate the risk of electric shock to birds and bats because the wingspan of birds cannot close the gap the conductors and earthed parts of a line. However, in areas where birds may land on the traverse of the lines, KEGOC has installed more than 7,000 unique bird-protection devices.
The company is always monitoring the market for advancements in the field of biodiversity protection, learning from the experiences of other enterprises, and collaborating with nature conservation agencies. For example, on December 7, the Company participated in a round table discussion on "Birds and Energy: In Search of Sustainable Development" organised by the BRCC Research&Conservation Public Foundation with the support of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), The Altai Project International Organisation, and the Russian Raptor Research and Conservation Network (RRRCN).
