The Electric Power Industry: Economic Nuances of Russian Trends

ABSTRACT

Electric power is the basic industry in which the Unified Energy System was created and successfully functioned during the Soviet period. Today, its characteristics are still used as a benchmark for assessing the results of the energy reforms. Is the current energy industry a positive or negative factor of the Russian economy? Does it require additional reform, and if so, how and to what extent should it be reformed? These questions should be answered via comprehensive examination and extensive scientific analysis and research. The article examines the general economics of managing the Russian centralized energy industry, analyzes statistical data, identifies quantitative and qualitative trends, and assesses the current state of the industry and its relationship with consumers.

KEYWORDS:

• economy
• efficiency
• electricity
• management
• reform
• tariff
• Unified Energy System of Russia

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. For example, Kuzbassenergo (TGK-12), Yenisei TGK (TGK-13), and other generating assets became part of the Siberian Generating Company energy holding, which was established in 2009 and today operates in six federal subjects in the Siberian Federal District and provides 23–25 percent of the heat and electricity generation of the energy system of Siberia.

^2. Available at https://www.so-ups.ru/index.php?id=ups_review.

^3. “What they fought for” is the first part of the proverb “Za chto borolis’, na to i naporolis,” which translates as “What they fought for was their undoing.” The proverb concerns fighting for goals that are detrimental in the future.—Trans.

^4. Rosstat. Available at http://www.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat_main/rosstat/ru/statistics/enterprise/fund/#.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

E.V. Liubimova

E.V. Liubimova, candidate of economic sciences, is affiliated with the Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk. E-mail: [email protected].