Energy Industry Day Date in the current year: December 22, 2024

The history of the Soviet energy industry officially began in December 1920, when the State Plan for the Electrification of Russia (GOELRO) was approved at the Eighth All-Russian Congress of Soviets. The plan stipulated the creation of a unified power grid in the Russian Soviet Federalist Socialist Republic. It laid the foundation for the industrialization of Russia.

Thanks to the implementation of the GOELRO plan, the total national power output per year increased 7 times by 1923 compared to 1913 (it should be noted that in 1913 the Russian Empire ranked fifth in terms of the annual power output after the United States, Germany, Great Britain and Italy, so the progress was really impressive).

In 1921, the government of Soviet Russia established the Main Electrotechnical Directorate (Glavelektro) under the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy. The directorate was tasked with overseeing the country’s power industry. In 1930, it was replaced by the People’s Commissariat of Power Plants and Electrical Industry. The institution was subsequently renamed several times until receiving its final name, the Ministry of Energy and Electrification of the Soviet Union, in 1966.

In May 1966, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR officially established Energy Industry Day to commemorate the adoption of the GOELRO plan. It was intended as a professional holiday for all Soviet power engineers and other professionals working in the energy industry.

For almost fifteen years, Energy Industry Day was celebrated on December 22, but in 1980 the date of the holiday was moved to the third Sunday of December. However, most power engineers did not agree with the new date and continued to celebrate their professional holiday on December 22 out of habit.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many former Soviet republics returned to the original date of the holiday sooner or later. Ukraine officially began to celebrate its Energy Industry Day on December 22 in 1993, Kyrgyzstan in 1994, Belarus in 1995, and Russia in 2015.

In addition to these four countries, Energy Industry Day is celebrated on December 22 in Armenia and Tajikistan. However, the government of Kazakhstan chose to continue celebrating Energy Industry Day on the third Sunday of December. In Turkmenistan, the Day of Energy Industry Workers is celebrated on the second Saturday of September.

The main task of Energy Industry Day is to recognize the contributions of energy industry workers to the economic development, as well as to the improvement of the daily life of the population. The holiday is marked by awards ceremonies and other professional events where energy industry workers are thanked for their hard work and dedication. Energy Industry Day is not a non-working day unless it falls on a weekend.