Translated material
Electric circle
Energy reform boiled down to establishing government control over the industry
The reform of the electric power industry, which Anatoly Chubais conceived to liberalize the industry, is gradually coming to the conclusion that it is still impossible to do without state control in this area. Yesterday, at a meeting with Vladimir Putin, the head of RAO UES said: “It would be correct if, taking into account the reorganization of RAO UES, one of the ministries in the government appeared in the legal successors of RAO UES next year, which, in our opinion, would only increase responsibility for the execution of documents (investment programs of energy companies. - Ed. ).”In other words, we are talking about the state taking over some of the functions of RAO. At the beginning of the reform, Mr. Chubais categorically opposed this development of events and insisted that the state be present only in the monopoly components of the electric power industry - the network and dispatch facilities, as well as in hydrogeneration. But when it became clear that the policy had changed and this was not enough for the state, and the Kremlin could suspend the final phase of reforms, the head of RAO decided to make an unpleasant proposal to the president of the country. It is obvious, a Kremlin source tells Vremya Novostei, that it will find a solution when forming a new government: “The idea of creating a separate Ministry of Energy is increasingly taking hold of minds.”
As you know, according to the plan for reforming the electric power industry, RAO UES should cease to exist on June 30 next year. Anatoly Chubais recently proposed to include this date in all laws and government regulations on changes in the industry. After this, the state-controlled Federal Grid Company and the System Operator - the Central Dispatch Office - will remain in the electric power industry, as well as private wholesale and territorial generating companies, sales, repairs and so on. Wholesale sales of electricity must take place on the trading platform of the Trading System Administrator and under bilateral agreements between buyers and sellers. Energy supply to the population and socially significant facilities should be provided by energy sales companies that have the status of a supplier of last resort. At the same time, Anatoly Chubais more than once emphasized in his speeches that in the industry “the market will regulate everything” - there is absolutely no need for state intervention in the private electric power industry, because private investors will solve all problems much more efficiently.
But the serious power accident that happened in Moscow on May 25, 2005 greatly influenced this logic. It turned out that there was no coordination of the actions of various structures in an emergency situation. And no one paid attention to the fact that the equipment had long since exhausted its service life. Therefore, the state did not have full confidence that private investors would take care of each other and eliminate the possibility of such accidents.
It was then that Gazprom began its expansion into the electric power industry. Today he should become the controlling shareholder of Mosenergo (a company that unites almost all power plants in the capital and Moscow region). Sources on the energy market claim that the state gas monopolist will also control energy generation in the north-west. However, Gazprom is obviously not ready to control the entire Russian electric power industry, and it is unlikely that it is in a position to do so. Therefore, it was necessary to look for an alternative way to control the industry, as Vladimir Putin said in 2003: “If you asked me whether this (reform - Ed. ) should be done according to Chubais, I can tell you: no. You need to do it wisely . There's nothing painful here. I have great respect for Anatoly Borisovich, but he is the head of the company. World practice shows that the structure changes and restructures itself not always badly, but always taking into account its own interests. And the government must make a decision in the interests of the entire state... This is the case when we must, using the terminology proposed to us, in my opinion, by Hippocrates, act according to the well-known principle of “do no harm.”
According to the logic of the current political situation, there is only one way to avoid harm - by placing all processes in the industry under state control. Moreover, practically no one intends to create real competition in the industry - financial and industrial groups that have bought large stakes in generation and sales are more interested in creating low energy prices for their production.
RAO explained yesterday that functions such as control over the construction and modernization of energy facilities, coordination of work, development and coordination of investment programs, compilation of energy balances, as well as management of work in emergency situations could be transferred to one of the ministries. At the same time, it seems to energy experts that the market council, consisting of representatives of the state and large energy companies, should “set the methodology” of the market. A Kremlin source claims that Mr. Chubais's proposal is not spontaneous, it has been discussed for a long time and, apparently, has no opposition. When asked whether such a ministry could become the future place of work for Anatoly Chubais himself, the official answers unequivocally: “This is unrealistic.”
However, RAO UES has already begun preparations for control over the work of private investors. It began to actually impose the conclusion of investment memorandums with potential buyers of shares in generating companies. These documents state that RAO (and subsequently its legal successor) will control the implementation of the investment program. This issue should be submitted to the board of directors of the energy holding in the near future. Experts criticized this approach of the liberal Anatoly Chubais, pointing out that it is necessary either to prevent private investors from entering the industry, or to give them a free hand. But there is no way to act in such “half measures”.
Vladimir Putin, pointing out yesterday that “in the course of work on the reorganization of the industry, certain decisions have been made recently: the deadlines have been slightly shifted, the role and importance of the state has increased,” yesterday he asked the head of RAO the following question: “Wouldn’t there be a Are there any restrictions in these areas for private investors to enter the market?” Anatoly Chubais replied: “You asked a question: the sources that will be received from investments, from IPOs of generating companies (meaning funds - Ed. ) - will we ensure their arrival in the generating companies themselves? Will we miss out on this money as a result? This is a separate task for which we have worked out and discussed a set of solutions at the board of directors. Let's report them to the government. These are solutions that allow you to immediately deposit this money into a special bank account. These are solutions that introduce a general contractor, who signs a contract for the entire scope of work as a whole and is tied to this source. Finally, the most important thing is agreements between shareholders and investors, according to which he (the investor - Ed. ) undertakes to build facilities using these sources of funds that are invested. Here, from the very beginning, the investor understands that he is not just buying a company - he must build this unit within a certain time frame. If he is satisfied with this, then he comes to the IPO.”
But then the president clarified: “What if these conditions are not met? We went through this in previous years: companies signed and did nothing.” Mr. Chubais agreed: “It’s true. We believe that the agreements we provide should include real responsibility for their implementation, including financial responsibility for non-performance.” “Should the documents spell out some kind of sanctions?” asked Vladimir Putin. “Actually, that’s what I meant. But if there is no RAO UES, and the sanctions are spelled out, then the question is who will ensure their implementation "
However, the main issue for investors is not responsibility for failure to implement the investment program, but the possibility of adjusting it if more effective solutions are found. This was not discussed yesterday. It was previously reported that RAO in general is not against such adjustments, but intends to coordinate them.
But no matter what RAO wants, in the absence of the main document of the electric power industry - the General Scheme for the Location of Energy Facilities until 2020, which the government, having accepted as a basis in April, sent for revision (and in fact, for complete processing), - all investment plans are - in fact, they are still more virtual than real. And the general scheme will be approved only when it is agreed upon, on the one hand, by Gazprom and coal miners as fuel suppliers, and on the other, by other major players in the energy market. So far there has been no such agreement. And it will not happen until the gas monopolist presents its general development plan for the long term. And this is not expected in the very near future. Apparently, this issue, among others, was discussed by Vladimir Putin and Anatoly Chubais behind closed doors. But the results of this conversation are not reported.
Three minority shareholders of RAO UES of Russia - Gazprom, Norilsk Nickel and the Siberian Coal Energy Company - have submitted applications for the creation of special holdings, which are necessary for the exchange of shares in thermal generating companies, a source familiar with the process of collecting applications told Interfax. The deadline for submitting eligible applications expired yesterday. According to him, in particular, Gazprom presented to RAO its proposals for the exchange of assets with the Federal Grid Company and HydroOGK, which would receive the stakes in thermal generating companies due to the state. As a result of the exchange, the gas concern hopes to gain control in OGK-2 and OGK-6, a small (about 15%) stake in Kuzbassenergo and a minority stake in Mosenergo, in which Gazprom is now expected to become the controlling shareholder. The remaining shareholders of RAO will be able to dispose of the blocks of shares in energy companies that they will receive as a result of the reorganization of the energy holding, after the complete completion of the reorganization process. "TIME FOR NEWS"