OREANDA-NEWS. October 11, 2007. Mikhail Slobodin, President of OJSC Russian Utility Systems, an interregional selector press conference focusing, inter alia, on readiness of RUS Group of Companies for the coming winter. The press conference also touched upon RUS investment activities, the company's territorial development plans, the prospects of the use of concessionary mechanisms in the utilities sector, etc.

According to Mikhail Slobodin, the group of companies of OJSC Russian Utility Systems is currently completing as scheduled the whole range of activities to prepare the utilities for the autumn and winter period. The volume of repair works undertaken this year has amounted to RUR 1.2 billion, or a 19% increase on 2006.

The volume of equipment and networks included in the responsibility zone of the utility holding company has risen by 15% as compared with the previous winter. With OJSC RUS expanding into new territories, the number of boiler-houses managed by this group of companies will grow by 24 and the length of heat networks operated by OJSC RUS will be augmented by 830 kilometers next winter. A considerable increase of 80% has been recorded in the water-and-sewage facilities controlled by OJSC RUS due to transfer of a major company, Novogor-Prikamie, to RUS operational management.

Apart from its day-to-day operations, OJSC RUS Group of Companies has been implementing a large-scale investment program.

Mikhail Slobodin made a special note of a number of important developments that the company has experienced and that have determined its new quality. In particular, the authorized capital of OJSC Russian Utility Systems has been increased fourfold to RUR 4 billion. Corporate procedures of consolidation of CJSC Integrated Energy Systems on the basis of OJSC Russian Utility Systems have been completed. Also, for the purposes of debt financing, necessary preparations have been made for floating a RUS bonded loan, and negotiations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are under way for long-term funds raising (up to RUR 10 billion) to be used in the company's infrastructural investment projects. 

Mikhail Slobodin replied to questions by journalists from regional studios.

A verbatim record of the selector press conference will be posted to OJSC RUS web site shortly.