On February 8, the Interfax news agency hosted a press conference, which was attended by a member of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), ex-Minister of Economy Yevgeny Yasin and vice-president of the RSPP Igor Yurgens. IN...

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On February 20, a press conference was held at the Interfax agency, in which Evgeny Yasin, a member of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), ex-Minister of Economy, and Igor Yurgens, vice president of the RSPP, took part. The discussion focused mainly on the state of the country's macroeconomics and its prospects. One of the main problems hindering the economic development of Russia, Yasin called the lack of investment. According to the Higher School of Economics, the country needs about $100 billion a year for normal economic growth, while no more than $40 billion is actually invested. This is largely due to the unreasonable policy of regulating tariffs for the products of natural monopolies, Yevgeny Yasin believes.

— We spend 2-3 times more energy per 1 ruble of gross domestic product than in Western countries, and our average price per kilowatt is several times lower. We absolutely do not know how to save energy, although this is a commodity and it should be valued,” he noted.

It turns out that the average tariff for 1 kW of electricity is 1.7 cents, while in the USA it is 5 cents, in Europe - 8, and in Japan all 12 cents. An increase in tariffs by 2-2.5 times will cause an increase in both domestic and foreign investment in the industry, which means it will lead to economic growth throughout the country.

- At the same time, only 12% of enterprises will increase their costs by 8-9%, while the rest will have this figure at the level of 2-3%, - said Yasin.

Representatives of the RSPP called another reason for curbing economic growth that natural monopolies, which, by the way, account for 25% of all investments, are now subsidizing other sectors of the economy, such as housing and communal services. While this is happening, one can not hope for rapid growth.