Industry News

The RAO UES management refuses to assume sole responsibility for the worn-out power grids and equipment installed at substations which may be the cause of accidents like the recent Moscow blackout. The RAO Management Board made the decision yesterday to share responsibility with both its consumers and shareholders. It is suggested that consumers pay to power companies for extra reliability and shareholders take part in the work of technical advisory boards and allocate additional funds out of profits for the technical re-equipping of stations.

Federal hydro generating company – HydroWGC estimates the costs of Boguchanskaya HPP construction completion to be $1,2 billion – 1,7 billion, as the Boguchanskaya HPP press-service has reported to ITAR-TASS correspondent today with the reference to Chairman of the Executive Committee of HydroWGC – Vyacheslav Sinyugin.

RAO UES of Russia (EESR) thinks it necessary to develop a modernisation programme for the Moscow power system, the holding company's head Anatoly Chubais told journalists earlier today.

RAO UES of Russia has completed the process of developing balancing market rules which provide for attracting one category of power consumers to managing power modes of the Unified Energy System of Russia in real-time, according to the holding company's Media Relations Department.

The total amount of lawsuits of the Moscow government against RAO UES of Russia over the 25 May blackout exceeds 2 billion roubles, Anatoly Chubais, Chairman of the RAO UES Management Board, said at a press conference.

The Strategy and Reform Committee of RAO UES of Russia has approved the whole block of stock of Taymirenergo sale at the meeting on 23 August, as the Committee informed RIA Novosti on Friday.

The issue on the conversion of preferred shares of RAO UES of Russia into common shares can be solved not before 2006, the Uralsib analytics believe. As they notice, detailed information on the conversion has not been yet provided and the conversion ratio has not been determined. At the same time, experts consider a perspective of the shares conversion as the factor, which should have positive effect on the preferred shares quotes.

Fitch Ratings, the international rating agency, today changed the outlook on TNK-BP International Ltd’s Senior Secured rating and Senior Unsecured foreign currency and local currency ratings to Positive from Stable.

The Finnish power concern Fortum has got three seats in the boards of directors of each of the companies spun off in the course of the reorganisation of OJSC Lenenergo. RAO UES of Russia (RAO representatives, independent directors, and representatives of the government of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region) has received eight seats in each, according to a Lenenergo press release devoted to the results of extraordinary meetings of shareholders of the new companies.

Investments in the Boguchanskaya HPP construction and the other projects development in the Krasnoyarsk Territory will amount to 4,5 bln dollars. As Oleg Deripaska, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Basic Element, briefed Vladimir Putin, President of Russian Federation, today at the meeting in Sochi.