Russian Hydropower Accident Threatens Aluminum Production

64 people are now feared dead.

Pictures look the the collapse of some transmission lines, a fire was involved, who knows what.

"Rusal's top management flew to the site Monday, joining government officials including Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu. Officials of Russian state-controlled hydropower monopoly RusHydro, which owns the hydropower station, were also on site.

Mr. Shoigu appeared on state television to calm local concerns that the hydropower-station dam was about to burst, stating that there was no threat to villages around Sayano-Shushenskaya. Other local industries were also initially affected, including steel producer Evraz Group SA, which said it temporarily shut down some of its downstream capacities.

Sayano-Shushenskaya is the fourth-largest hydropower plant in the world by average power generation, with an effective capacity of 3.5 gigawatts and installed capacity of about 6.7 gigawatts. It accounts for roughly a quarter of RusHydro's total capacity, and damages could cost the company about $350 million, analysts estimate."

:shrug:

That's one big Hydro plant. Makes Hoover Dam look like a baby.

Sounds like it was big, if it's going to take years to repair. It also sounds like the dam structure itself was not compromised, which is good, otherwise it might actually have been another Banqiao.