Medvedev and administration expect detailed proposals for developing Russia's electricity and utilities market - Dvorkovich
MOSCOW. May 24 (Interfax) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his administration expect the government to present detailed proposals for developing electricity and utilities services, Presidential Advisor Arkady Dvorkovich told journalists on Tuesday.
"It is possible that a decision for 2012 [for indexing tariffs of natural monopolies according to the inflation rate] would be reasonable but the president and the administration expect real proposals for developing the electricity markets and the utilities sector," he said.
Dvorkovich added that priority decisions should be made for the electricity and utilities sectors, which would help develop a civilized market.
"If we will gradually index tariffs, we won't be able to stop. Only the introduction of market mechanisms could stabilize prices and allow us to stop indexation efforts," he said, adding that the introduction of market mechanisms should include the development of ways to protect the lower and poorer rungs of society, as well as small businesses.