Translated material
Energy cocktail
The government allowed itself a little liberalism
The Cabinet of Ministers of Viktor Zubkov demonstrated liberalism in a single reform of a single monopolist. Yesterday, at a government meeting, the next stage of the “modernization” of RAO UES of Russia was discussed. It turned out that there are no or almost no problems - that is, they exist, but they are of a purely technical nature. And members of the Cabinet of Ministers are filled with optimism in their forecasts regarding the progress of RAO UES to its logical end as a monopolist in July 2008.The main optimist in assessing the reform of the electric power industry, as the meeting participants say, unexpectedly became not even the head of RAO Anatoly Chubais, but Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov. It was he who said that “the electric power industry has ceased to be a constraint on the country’s GDP growth.” And also that “now the so-called rolling blackouts of consumers and the population have been practically eliminated, real investments have come into the industry, including from the sale of energy companies.” The prime minister also showed himself to be no stranger to market views: he insisted on mandatory competition in the industry and on the measured influence of the state on the electricity market.
As a keen expert on the political situation, Mr. Chubais, although he spoke extremely briefly, accurately noted the essence of the discussion: they say, “thank you for maintaining the liberalization strategy.”
True, the guiding optimism still required some decoding: is there enough electricity for the market and the population today? Businesses large and small have not yet shown such confidence. The main speaker, Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko, after the government meeting, explained to journalists what, in fact, was meant when it was said that the electric power industry no longer slows down GDP. He noted that there are no longer any obstacles to the development of the energy industry itself - neither political nor economic. And this is an absolute plus and growth. As for the “threat of energy shortage,” according to Mr. Khristenko, the government plans to completely remove it in 2010. And it will cost about 3 trillion rubles. That is, there is still a threat.
The minister recalled that half a trillion investments have already come into the industry. The same number is expected in the next six months. Budgetary support for the industry in 2007 will amount to 30 billion rubles, the same in 2008, and 60 billion in 2009.
So Mr. Khristenko has no doubts about money for the industry. Today he is more concerned about clarifying the functions of the state in the future model of the electric power industry. “I would be incorrect if today I said that I know all the answers to all the questions. We need new regulatory documents,” the minister noted. — I would like to note that the role of antimonopoly authorities will increase significantly. The dominant barrier will be reduced from 35 to 20%. The role of tariff authorities is being transformed. Networks and dispatch services will remain under state control—76% of the shares in the network company and 100% of the shares in the system operator will belong to the state.”
And yet it became known that one monopolist spoils the blood of another. Mr. Khristenko confirmed that RAO UES and Gazprom have disagreements on five objects. “I think that in the near future we will find the strength to reach an agreement,” the minister promised. “There are more misunderstandings here, idle macroeconomic reasoning,” he explained his optimism.
Mr. Khristenko, in blitz mode, also announced that he had nominated Dmitry Akhanov (by the way, a native of RAO UES) for the post of head of Rosenergo. According to Mr. Khristenko, “a worthy person will be appointed head of Zarubezhneft who will be able to take over existing projects,” but he refused to give his name. The minister also stated that Russia will not build a second branch of the Yamal-Europe pipeline through the territory of Belarus. And he even assessed the sharp rise in world oil prices: “There will be consequences for the financial system, and we will see them.”