Electricity tariffs for metal cos to come down in 3-4 yrs - Dvorkovich
MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - Electricity tariffs for major metallurgical companies will come down in three or four years, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters.
"We've discussed this, mainly in the context of the 'last mile'. All the decisions have been reached, tariffs to supply electricity to the biggest metallurgical companies will come down in three or four years, end prices for electricity for these companies will steady or even fall," he said, when asked whether metals companies had complained to the government about high energy tariffs.
The 'last mile' contracts, under which the Federal Grid Company UES (FGC) leases small sections of backbone grids to which major consumers are connected to interregional distribution grid companies (IDGC), appeared in 2006. As a result, consumers could not enter into direct contracts with FGC.
FGC's tariff is lower than that of IDGC, so it is more lucrative for major consumers to enter into direct contracts with FGC. However, the 'last mile' mechanism makes it possible to subsidize electricity transmission rates for households connected to distribution grids by shifting much of the burden to major industrial consumers.
Russia's Federation Council on October 30 approved a law to eliminate the problem of the 'last mile' in the electricity sector.