Lack of fuel for diesel power stations has left a number of villages in the Koryak Autonomous Area without electricity, RIA news agency reported on 25 October.
Electricity is severely rationed in several villages, RIA said quoting the press service of the Emergencies Ministry regional centre for the Far East. In the villages of Oklan and Paren, Penzhinskiy District, and Ust-Vyvenka and Pakhachi, Olyutorskiy District, electricity is supplied for two to four hours a day.
The authorities do not plan to evacuate the residents as the villagers can fall back on an adequate supply of coal to keep their homes warm, the press service told RIA.
The authorities will deliver fuel to the villages by helicopter, the press service said. When a tanker with fuel, which has left the village of Tigil, arrives in the port of Manily, a Mi-26 helicopter will fly the fuel to the villages in need.
At the moment, the Koryak Autonomous Area has only 9,000 t of diesel fuel and 94,000 t of coal. The required amount is 34,000 t of diesel and 130,000 t of coal. Even after more fuel is shipped to the area, Penzhinskiy and Tigilskiy districts will still be 50 per cent short of their energy needs, RIA said.
"The fuel delivery situation is under the control of the prosecutor's office", Vladimir Chistov, the Koryak Autonomous Area deputy prosecutor, told RIA.
The prosecutor's office has launched criminal proceedings against deputy governor of the Koryak Autonomous Area Mikhail Sokolovskiy on negligence charges. Sokolovskiy is in charge of energy and heating.
Prosecutors are searching for Sokolovskiy, who has been missing for four months, Chistov told RIA.

Source: RIA news agency, Moscow
BBC Monitoring