OREANDA-NEWS. April 13, 2010. Seminar “The state regulation of the electric and grid companies by return on invested capital method (RAB)” is taking place in Veliky Novgorod

Seminar-conference “The state regulation of the electric grid companies by the return on invested capital method” began its work in Veliky Novgorod.

Among over one hundred participants of the seminar there are representatives of the Federal Service by tariffs of Russia, the Committee by tariffs of Saint-Petersburg, the Service by the state regulation of prices and tariffs of Kaliningrad region, the State Committee of Pskov region by tariffs, the Committee by tariffs and the price policy of Leningrad region, the Regional power Committee of Vologda region, the State Committee of the Republic of Karelia by power and the regulation of tariffs, the Service of the Republic of Komi by tariffs, the Committee by the price and tariff policy of Novgorod region, the Administration by the tariff regulation of Murmansk region, the Agency by the tariffs and prices of Arkhangelsk region.

The representatives of the power companies of the Northwestern federal district, the administrations of regions, the Agency by the balances forecasting in the power sector also take part in the seminar. Beside the regions of the Northwestern federal district, the representatives of Ural, Volga Region, the Republic of Tatarstan, Nizhegorodsky region and city of Moscow take part in the work of the seminar.

Director General of IDGC of the North-West Alexander Kukhmai spoke in the framework of the seminar-conference of the Federal Service by tariffs.  The chief of Interregional  grid company stressed in his speech principles which IDGC of the North-West follows in the interaction course with the regional authorities and regulating bodies while deciding the issues of a transfer to a new method of tariffs making in the territory of the company’s presence.

In the words of the top manager of IDGC of the North-West, the new method RAB corresponding to the best international experience in the regulation of natural monopolies is a tariff motivation to the decrease of operating expenses of the grid companies and a transparent control. “RAB-regulation is a transfer to a new investment strategy of the region” – said Alexander Kukhmai.

An independent estimation and re-estimation of the capital must take into account the coefficient of the grid loading.  Such conclusion was made by Valentin Chesnokov, a chief of Department of tariff making of IDGC of the North-West, JSC in report “Topical issues of a transfer to RAB – regulation” at seminar “The state regulation of the electric grid companies by way of the return on invested capital method (RAB)”. The regulated organizations are interested that base RAB provides investments resources and a shareholders’ income.

A report of Yuri Malanin, Chairman of the Committee by the price and tariff policy of Novgorod region was devoted to the reasons of transfer to RAB–regulation and the development perspectives of the region owing to the usage of the return on invested capital method. We remind that branch of IDGC of the North-West “Novgorodenergo” transferred to RAB since January 1 of 2010.

“The main factor of the tariff growth in 2011 is rather the liberalization of the wholesale power market than the transfer to RAB”, - Yuri Malanin, - Our forecast  is a significant slowdown of growth rates since 2013 reflecting the indexation of operational costs”, - he reported .

Having agreed the transfer to RAB method, a series of the regional regulators decided to refuse it and approve tariffs by a method “expenses plus”. Deputy Chief of the regulation Department of the Federal Service by tariffs of Russia Sergey Sasim told about this problem the participants of seminar “The state regulation of the electric grid companies by the return on invested capital method (RAB)”. “The regulation bodies neither establish long-term regulation parameters nor reconsider them within a year but we will strictly struggle with it “, - said he. By the words of Sergey Sasim, the work by the improvement of the legislative base by a transfer of the grid companies to the long-term regulation is made nowadays.

The reporter marked the peculiarities of X-factor definition, the last mile problem and the price abolition for the technological connection as themes to be discussed by the seminar’s participants.