Rostechnadzor (the state environmental, technological, and nuclear safety watchdog) reports that 1,503 heating and electricity-providing facilities still didn’t have enough skilled workers or qualified employees on October 1, 2007. Rostechnadzor’s press officer says 634 such companies can’t provide proper control over the production processes.

The agency has to inspect 21,946 enterprises altogether to make sure all of them are ready to face the winter. 21,359 enterprises claimed they were ready to be certified for readiness in 2007, but only 7,744 of them have actually been certified so far.

As for Ural Federal District, 790 enterprises out of 1,526 have so far been certified by Rostechnadzor.