60 years of the Dnestrovsk Energy Technical School

The College of Energy and Computer Technologies of Dnestrovsk celebrated its 60th anniversary. The history of the educational institution is closely connected with the Moldavian Hydroelectric power station, the first power unit of which was launched in September 1964. The station was in dire need of qualified specialists – power engineers. Therefore, a training and consultation center of the All-Union Correspondence Energy Construction Technical School from the city of Kuibyshev (today - Samara) was opened at the Hydroelectric power station on May 19, 1965. The Evening Power College of Dnestrovsk was created on the basis of the station in 1966 after the launch of the second power unit, and a daytime department appeared a year later. A production building, an educational building with an assembly hall, a canteen and a gym, and a dormitory were built and put into operation in the 1970s. Graduates of the technical school began to be sent to work not only at the Moldavian Hydroelectric power station, but also at large enterprises in other union republics. The educational institution has undergone several reorganizations, the names and training formats have changed over six decades. Only the unique specialties for which the technical school trains graduates today have remained unchanged. A dual system of training specialists was introduced here together with Moldavian Hydroelectric power station in 2018. Students undergo practical training at enterprises by current specialists. Approximately a thousand graduates work at the leading enterprises of Pridnestrovie today – these are the Moldavian Hydroelectric power station, the Unified Distribution Networks, Elektromash, the Moldavian Metallurgical Plant, the Dubossary Hydroelectric Power Station, Tirotex and others.

The Technical School of Energy and Technology of Dnestrovsk was awarded the Order of Labor Glory by the Decree of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic for the great contribution of the technical school staff to the education and upbringing of the younger generation and in connection with the 60th anniversary. Certificates and letters of gratitude were received by teachers, veterans and employees of the technical school.

The Supreme Council deputy for the 33rd "Vostochny" constituency Viktor Guzun congratulated the Energy Technical School of Dnestrovsk on its 60th anniversary. The parliamentarian donated office equipment to the educational institution as a gift for the anniversary.

Installers and adjusters of electrical equipment, repairmen, heating engineers, power plant engineers. It is impossible to imagine modern life without them today. The work of such specialists was especially appreciated by the Pridnestrovians during the acute energy crisis at the beginning of the year. The Moldavian Hydroelectric power station switched to coal and was forced to reduce the volume of electricity produced for the needs of the republic due to the suspension of gas supplies. Due to the lack of blue fuel, heating was turned off in the homes of Pridnestrovians. Residents of the republic used electrical appliances to heat their houses and apartments. Rolling blackouts were introduced in Pridnestrovie. High loads led to dozens of accidents on the power grids every day. In the middle of winter, entire streets were left without electricity and heat for several hours. In the most difficult conditions, teams of power engineers responded to calls at any time of the day. Many of them are graduates of the Energy College of Dnestrovsk. 

The college itself did not remain on the sidelines during the energy crisis. Its dormitory temporarily became home to fifty students of vocational educational institutions from among orphans and children left without parental care in December and January.