Power firms across Russia cry crisis amid freeze

MOSCOW, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Power companies across vast swathes of Russia declared states of emergency on Friday while prosecutors searched for officials responsible for a spate of energy crises which have crippled supplies of heat and light. Weather forecasters predicted more misery for tens of thousands of Russians over the coming Orthodox Christmas weekend, as a front bringing temperatures of -50 Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit) swept across Siberia. Energy officials in the city of Tomsk asked residents not to use power-sapping electric heaters or use hot water from heating systems for cooking or cleaning, after Unified Energy System Siberia declared a state of emergency, Interfax said. In the remote Sakhalin region, severe weather left power stations with a serious lack of coal. Some power stations on the impoverished islands had only enough fuel to work for a week on the emergency regime, Interfax said. In the Far Eastern Primorye region prosecutors have begun nine investigations into why electricity was turned off to hospitals and children"s homes, Interfax said, quoting Russia"s General Prosecutor"s office. Two officials in the area already face charges of negligence over the affair. Investigations into irregular energy supplies were also under way in the central Russian regions of Ulyanovsk and Kursk, Interfax said. http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20010105_1214.html

-- Carl Jenkins (somewherepress@aol.com), January 05, 2001