RusHydro Launches New 640 MW Hydropower Unit

March 15th, 2012

RusHydro Launches New 640 MW Hydropower Unit at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydropower Plant

JSC RusHydro (ticker symbol: MICEX-RTS, LSE: HYDR; OTCQX: RSHYY) announces that a new hydropower unit was commissioned at the Company's Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant (HPP), adding another 640 MW to 5 hydro-units in operation with a total capacity of 3200 MW. The commissioning ceremony was attended by the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, the Head of the Government of the Republic of Khakassia Viktor Zimin and Yevgeny Dod, Chairman of RusHydro's Management Board.

A full cycle of commissioning tests, under the direct supervision of Power Machines (the turbines manufacturer), was carried out prior to commissioning.

Hydropower unit No. 7 is the second brand new unit commissioned at the HPP. Hydropower unit No. 1 was launched earlier, in December 2011. Another 8 new hydro-power units are scheduled to be installed as part the 2nd phase of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP rehabilitation project (the 4 old hydro-units restored and put into operation in 2010 will also be replaced by new ones). The rehabilitation schedule for the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP calls for commissioning 3 hydro-units per year until 2014. Eventually, the plant will be fully equipped with brand new up-to-date equipment with enhanced performance characteristics that meet all safety and reliability requirements.

Power Machines and RusHydro entered into a contract to produce basic power equipment to restore the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP in November 2009. Under terms of the contract, Power Machines will produce 10 hydropower turbines, nine 640 MW hydropower generators and six excitation systems (one new generator and 4 excitation systems have been produced and installed at hydropower units launched after the completion of renovation repair work in 2010).

The useful life of the new units has been extended to 40 years and maximum efficiency now reaches 96.6%. They also have improved energy and cavitation features. The turbines will be fitted with a more efficient process protection system, which will automatically shut down the unit in case of any inadmissible deviations from controlled parameters.

For more information:

JSC RusHydro, Investor Relations Department

Tel. +7 (495) 225-3232 ext. 1319, 1394, 1607

[email protected]

DISCLAIMER

The information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of RusHydro. One can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may" or "might," the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially from these statements.

We do not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, general economic conditions, our competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia and rapid technological and market changes in our industries, as well as many other risks specifically related to RusHydro and its operations.