UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2017. Rosset’s Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems (FGC UES) had nearly 5,000 hectares of woodland paths under its electric main lines in Western Siberia cleared this year, FGC UES Western Siberia’s PR & Media Group reports. The company coordinated over eighty emergency drills involving its power substation personnel and the Department of Emergencies’ rescue teams. Together with other fire safety measures, these drills helped prevent fire outbreaks at the company’s power stations in Western Siberia this year. Fire safety improvement measures also

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2017. New 2,000-ruble bills that came into circulation this fall can already be found at SKB-Bank’s outlets and ATMs, the bank’s press service reports. SKB-Bank’s cardholders can get the new bills when taking money out of a cash machine, or at cash desks when cashing in their deposits or with the change resulting from their transactions. To make the thing more convenient for customers, there are notes at every outlet with a description of what the new bill looks like and how to check if it’s a valid banknote. Besides, all the details on the new notes and

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, December 29, 2017. A new hopper crane was recently launched at the coal preparation shop of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) coke and by-product process department, MMK Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. ‘This is the fifth such crane that was put up at the company as part of our crane facilities reconstruction program (under way since 2005). The program covers for replacing all of the shop’s six cranes. The first four units were bought from the Czech company KCI Konecranes, and the fifth one was made by the Serbian firm GOSA FOM,’ the Department

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 29, 2017. South Urals Chamber of Commerce & Industry adopted an international events program for the year 2018, the CCI’s press service reports. The events are directed at finding new business partners and investors and developing trade and economic relations. The Chamber’s Foreign Economic Activity Center will begin next year with a number of official and business visits of Chelyabinsk Oblast delegates to Israel and Uzbekistan in February. In March, delegates will go on business missions to Tajikistan and the South African Republic; also, a group of Chinese

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2017. 2,256 people living in Sverdlovsk Oblast paid off RUR 371m of their debts altogether starting from January 1, 2017 in order to be allowed to travel abroad, the constituency’s division of Federal Service of Court Officers reports. ‘A ban on leaving the country was imposed on some 70,000 people with unpaid debts this year, their accumulated debt at around RUR 60bn. 12,000 of them are parents who fail to pay their child support allowances (this debt amounts to RUR 2bn all in all),’ the division says.