Modernization of Russian Far East's energy sector may be financed using RusHydro's dividend flow with repayment through Far Eastern surcharge
MOSCOW. Jan 23 (Interfax) - Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev has given instructions to consider the possibility of financing the modernization of power facilities in the Far East using the dividend flow of PJSC RusHydro starting from 2026, with subsequent repayment to the company of this amount of funds from 2028 through the mechanism of the Far Eastern surcharge, Trutnev's press service said following a meeting of the government commission on the region's socio-economic development.
In addition, Trutnev gave instructions to the Construction Ministry and Far Eastern regions to develop a program for improving the efficiency of heat supply through comprehensive modernization and reconstruction. The program should provide for sources and mechanisms of financing, including Treasury loans.
The Far East and Arctic Development Ministry, the Energy Ministry and the Far Eastern regions have also been instructed to conduct an inventory of electricity and heat supply facilities to create a register of such facilities, as well as update plans to improve the efficiency of energy supply and optimize the levels of subsidies for the inter-tariff difference, the press service said.
The existing mechanism for subsidizing tariffs for the Far East's population is overloading regional budgets, leading to an increase in debt to energy resource suppliers. "The debt of regional budgets to RusHydro today amounts to almost 40 billion rubles," Trutnev was quoted as saying.
He previously told journalists that RusHydro will not pay dividends in 2026.
"First of all, we need to build new capacities and increase the efficiency of existing ones. We also need to improve the logistics for delivering energy resources because the Far East is vast, and our regulatory systems are somewhat challenging to operate," Trutnev said regarding current tasks.
Trutnev said at the beginning of 2025 that the Russian government together with RusHydro's management was preparing proposals to improve the company's economic condition. "The main problem with RusHydro is that it pays market price for coal while keeping tariffs in the regulated sector. Economics doesn't work that way," he said.
At a meeting on energy held in September 2025 with President Vladimir Putin, all previously proposed support measures for RusHydro were generally approved, including directing the dividend flow to investment, Deputy Energy Minister Yevgeny Grabchak told journalists.
The support measures for RusHydro largely concern the debt burden. The duration of the dividend moratorium has not been officially determined yet, RusHydro board member Sergei Terebulin said subsequently.
