The Russian budget was attacked by energy vampires

Rosatom and Chubais asked for more than 1 trillion rubles to modernize the energy sector.
13.02.2018
RBC
Origin source
"Rosatom" claims 1 trillion rubles. of 1.5 trillion rubles, which, according to the government's decision, consumers may have to spend on upgrading the country's energy sector. Corporations will have to compete with other energy companies.

Rosatom intends to participate in the program of modernization of the Russian energy industry, representatives of the concern said on February 12 at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, told RBC four sources close to the meeting. A representative of Rosatom confirmed that his representatives participated in the meeting, refusing to comment on the details. The representative of Dvorkovich also did not comment on the outcome of the meeting.

Rosatom intends to build three VVER-1200 reactors - two at Kursk NPP and one at Smolensk NPP, as well as a fast neutron reactor (where exactly, the representative of Rosatom did not specify, but the company is now being built at Beloyarsk NPP), says one of the interlocutors of RBC. Another source says that Rosatom asked to compensate for the costs of building reactors at Kursk and Smolensk NPPs. According to three interlocutors of RBC, the cost of power units "Rosatom" is estimated at 1 trillion rubles, another says that it is about 1.2 trillion rubles.

The program of modernization of Russia's energy sector in November 2017 was supported by President Vladimir Putin, and now the government is discussing its parameters. Energy Minister Alexander Novak estimated the maximum possible size of the program at 1.5 trillion rubles. until the year 2030. Under the current rules for this amount since 2022, payment for capacity for large consumers was to decrease. During the reform of RAO UES in the late 2000s, the government obliged large consumers to finance the construction of new power units in the country: the power companies, having built a new unit, receive a higher price for it within ten years, and then it must fall to the market. But Minenrego and the energy companies proposed not to reduce the fee for consumers, but to modernize the old generation by this money. Putin instructed to take into account the interests of nuclear, "green" generation and "Rossetey", as well as to prevent the growth of prices above inflation.

At a meeting with Dvorkovich on February 12, other market participants also made proposals. The head of Rosnano, Anatoly Chubais, offered to build more green power units for "liberating money", three sources told RBC. Now the green energy support program envisages the construction of 6 GW of wind, solar and small hydropower plants, Chubais proposed to increase it to 20 GW, the interlocutors said. The program for supporting renewable energy sources (RES) is built on the same principle as the construction of new power units during the reform of RAO UES: for the capacity of new facilities, large consumers pay an elevated price. Expansion of the support program is estimated at 1.5 trillion rubles, says two interlocutors of RBC.

The representative of Rosnano refused to comment on the results of the meeting. Previously, "Rosnano" proposed to extend the green energy support program until 2035 and build another 20 GW. The volume of investments of the state company was estimated at 2 trillion rubles.

"RusHydro" proposed to modernize its TPPs in the Far East for 153 billion rubles, two people close to the meeting tell. According to Kommersant, we are talking about replacing turbines and building power units at six power plants with a capacity of 1.3 GW.

The meeting at Dvorkovich passed quickly, says one of the interlocutors of RBC. The Vice Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Energy to analyze and take into account the initiatives of the companies so that the price for electricity, as the president instructed, grew no higher than inflation, another interlocutor adds.

The greatest need for support is thermal generation, the most efficient and cheaper for consumers than, for example, solar, said RBC chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Association of the Council of Producers of Energy Alexander Panin (her comment was conveyed by the representative). According to her, now more than 30% of the thermal generation capacity in Russia is over 45 years old, morally and physically obsolete.

Industrial consumers believe that introducing an increased fee for the modernization of old units is a bad idea: in their view, the energy sector itself should pay for the modernization. "We expect that through the commissioning of new power units, for which large consumers will pay power to the whole 3 trillion rubles. [for the entire duration of the existing program], the energy companies will increase operational efficiency and will finance the upgrading of capacities with money saved, "Vasily Kiselev, the director of the Association of Energy Consumers Association, told RBC.

Officials

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