Federation Council recommended to adopt amendments to law on regulation of energy tariffs

The Federation Council commission for natural monopolies recommended the upper house to adopt amendments to the federal law on the state regulation of tariffs for electrical and heat energy at a plenary meeting on October 16, 2002.

The amendments suggest a new procedure of setting tariffs. They are to be set annually before a budget draft for the following year is adopted on the first reading. Changing tariffs during a financial year is possible only with simultaneous budget amendments.

In the opinion of senators, such procedure will insure a certain guarantee to recipients of budget resources that there would be no non-payments and threat of shutting off electrical and heat energy.

At the same time, according to deputy chairman of the Russian Federal Energy Commission Igor Redkin, setting tariffs once a year is actually "setting tariffs at random, as they do not reflect economic situation at companies". He believes that this could bring to the electrical energy industry becoming "a stagnating industry".