MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/. US-based General Electric (GE) discontinued servicing gas turbines at thermal power plants in Russia effective June 19 after the imposition of expanded US sanctions, business daily Kommersant reported on Tuesday.

The company cut off access to its monitoring system without explanation, the newspaper said, citing sources, adding that it may also suspend deliveries of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) spare parts for GE and Alstom turbines in the future. Moreover, GE has also discontinued servicing gas turbines at Russian thermal power plants. The EU and the US have not yet imposed direct sanctions on supplies of components for gas turbines to Russia, including critical hot gas path spare parts, Kommersant noted. GE made no comments to the newspaper.

The T Plus generating company told the business daily that the situation came as no shock. "The decision to fully cease cooperation by [our] Western colleagues was expected. The company is stocked with the necessary spare parts for now, although it is considering the possibility of localizing production and maintenance," the company said. Unipro told Kommersant that it was exploring the issue, while EL5-Energo had no comment. Inter RAO noted that the Russian Gas Turbines company (RGT), a joint venture between Inter RAO and GE, is localizing the production of spare parts for General Electric turbines and provides maintenance services under already concluded agreements.