OREANDA-NEWS. March 22, 2012. 8th Annual Conference “Risk Management in the Electric Power Industry” took place in Moscow. Deputy Head of the Electric Power Department of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), Elena Tsyshevskaya, made a presentation about the challenges for competition on Russian energy market as well as important issues of antimonopoly regulation, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

In her presentation, Elena discussed the most frequent violations of the antimonopoly law on the markets of electric and heating energy. For instance, in 2010 the antimonopoly bodies investigated 5643 petitions from legal entities and physical persons about violations of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” on the markets of electric and heating energy. In the first six months of 2011 the number of such petitions exceeded 3000.

According to Ms. Tsyshevskaya, the markets of electric and heating energy nearly take the first place by the number of exposed violations. The most widespread violation is abusing dominant position on the market.

Deputy Head of the Electric Power Department said: “In the end of 2011 the third antimonopoly package of amendments came into force, and significant part of the novelties also relate to the sphere of our work”.

Changes are introduced to Article 25 of the Law “On Electric Power Energy” that eliminated a concept of “exclusive” position of an economic entity on the wholesale market of electric power, introduced a concept of “price manipulation on the wholesale and retail markets of electric power”, formalized the need to determine the criteria of significant changes of prices of electric power and capacity (the procedures shall be established by the Government of the Russian Federation).

Amendments are introduced to Article 6 of No.36-FZ Federal Law “On Specifics of Functioning of Electric Power Industry in the Period of Transition and on Introducing Changes to Some Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation and on Recognizing Some Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Ceased to Be in Force due to Adopting the Federal Law “On Electric Power Energy”, under which FAS is assigned a number of additional powers.

Elena informed the conference about a novelty in the field of suppressing violations of the antimonopoly law. “Warning is a new instrument of antimonopoly enforcement designed to eliminate the consequences of a violations, as well as the reasons and conditions that facilitated violations, without initiating a case”, said Ms. Tsyshevskaya.

“Warning is issued by the head of an antimonopoly body to an economic entity that has dominant market position if the antimonopoly body exposes signs of violating Clauses 3 and 5 Part 1Article 10 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”, explained FAS representative. “Signs of violations shall be all circumstances that entail initiating and investigating a case on violating the antimonopoly law, specified in Part 2 Article 39 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”, emphasized Ms. Tsyshevskaya.