IDGC Holding confirms strategy until 2015 with plans to enter foreign markets
MOSCOW. Nov 23 (Interfax) - The board of directors at grid company OJSC IDGC Holding confirmed the company's development strategy until 2015 on Tuesday, as well as an option for the period until 2020, which includes plans to enter foreign markets, the holding said in a statement.
The statement said that the company earlier used a development strategy for Russia's electricity distribution sector as a guide. This strategy was confirmed in 2006 by the Inter-Agency Commission for Reforming the Electricity Sector. IDGC Holding's new strategy, unlike its last one, aims not only at modernizing grid infrastructure but also preventing a sharp increase in tariffs for consumers.
The holding's strategy also presumes the possibility of developing new areas of operation such as "the export of core competency", including the production of electricity grid equipment, power services, the design and construction of electricity grid facilities. Therefore, IDGC Holding hopes to make additional sales revenue for financing investment in distribution.
The statement said: "The company aims at entering new markets for electricity transmission and distribution both inside and outside of Russia".
The Russian daily Kommersant quoted sources on Wednesday as saying that IDGC Holding is now interested in E.ON Bulgaria EAD, a Bulgarian grid operation. The company now is controlled by German's E.ON. Both the German company and the Bulgarian authorities have put up packets for sale in grid and sales assets controlled by the Bulgarian company.
The implementation of company's strategy will require efforts not only on the corporate level but also revisions in the legal and methodology base of the entire sector with the involvement of Russia's Energy Ministry and Rostekhnadzor, which develop state policy in the safe use of electricity facilities and reliability factors, equipment reserves and tariff formation. Commenting on possible changes to the holding's structure, IDGC Holding's head, Nikolai Shvets, was quoted as saying in the statement that the holding, in its operations, should be limited to providing centralized services if they are large in scope, coordinating R&D work, and exchanging operational practices. He said that IDGC grid companies and regional grid companies should retain their operational independence.
It was earlier reported that various development options were discussed during the first stage of preparations for the strategy, including privatizations (which is foreseen in sector reform), moving to a single share, uniting the parent company with one the IDGC subsidiaries, and brining in outside companies to manage the grid distribution complex.
