OREANDA-NEWS. September 09, 2013. On 30th July 2013 “System Operator of the Unified Power System” OJSC (“SO UES” OJSC) published at its web-site information and documents required for competitive capacity take-offs for 2014.

The list included two orders by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), which determine the free power transfer zones, where competitive take-off takes place without maximum price, caps and additional requirements for entities with dominant position on the market for participating in competitive take-offs.

Under No. 463/13 FAS Order “On Determining Free Power Transfer Zones, Where Competitive Take-Offs for 2014 Takes Place Using Maximum Capacity Prices”, the maximum price levels shall be introduced in 16 out of 21 free power transfer zones. As a result, capacity take-offs without “price caps” will take place only in the following free power transfer zones: “Siberia”, “Urals”, Centre”, Volga” and “Vyatka”.

“FAS undertakes annual efforts for combining free power transfer zones. In 2014 the overall number of such zones will reduce from 23 to 21 in comparison with 2013 by combining free power transfer zones within the First price zone of the wholesale market of electric power and capacity. For instance, “Perm” free power transfer zone was included in “Urals” free power transfer zone, “Rostov” free power transfer zone was included in “Kuban” free power transfer zone”, commented the Head of FAS Department for Control over Electric Power Industry, Vitaly Korolyov.

No.462/13 FAS Order published on the web-site of “SO UES” OJSC concerns introduction of additional requirements for price bids for competitive capacity take-offs in 2014 filed by capacity suppliers (groups of person) that have dominant position on the market within one free power transfer zone.

“Also we analyzed economic concentration in “Siberia”, “Urals”, Centre”, Volga” and “Vyatka” free power transfer zones. In addition to FAS Orders we forwarded our findings to the system operator indicating the list of whole market participants (group of persons) that have dominant positions in these free power transfer zones”, added Vitaly Korolyov.

Under the Rules of Wholesale Market of Electric Power and Capacity, FAS annually analyzes economic concentration in free power transfer zones, on the basis of which FAS determines a list of free power transfer zones, where competitive capacity take-offs takes place using the maximum capacity prices (caps).

To prevent abusing market dominance on the wholesale market of eclectic power within one zone, FAS annually sets additional requirements for the price bids of capacity suppliers filed to take part in competitive capacity take-offs.