FGC tariffs may rise 25% in 2013, 17% in 2014
MOSCOW. Sept 14 (Interfax) - The pace of increase in electricity tariffs under regulatory asset base (RAB) rules at Federal Grid Company could amount to 25% in 2013 and 17% in 2014, Gazprombank, an organizer for an FGC bond issue, said in an analytical report.
Gazprombank believes the electricity tariff will be 179,600 rubles per megawatt-month in 2013 and 210,200 rubles per MW-month in 2014.
The Federal Tariffs Service (FTS) has still not made a decision on FGC's five-year RAB tariffs. The company is currently operating with tariffs for a three-year period: 2010-2012. The tariff increases are set at 51.1% in 2010, 31.2% in 2011 and 24.72% in 2012.
The FTS board plans to examine the parameters of the five-year RAB tariff at an upcoming meeting, the service told Interfax. The rate of return on invested (new) capital is provisionally set at 10% in 2013-2014 (compared with 11% in 2010-2012), while the return on initial (old) capital is 7.8% in 2013 and 9.1% in 2014 (3.9%, 5.2% and 6.5% in 2010-2012 respectively).
The Gazprombank's forecast for FGC revenue and EBITDA in 2013-2014 (excluding losses on transmission networks) given the switch to five-year RAB tariffs, is presented in the following table (billion rubles):
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Revenue | 93.8 | 124.6 | 155.4 | 194.1 | 227 |
| EBITDA | 62 | 88.8 | 116.2 | 151.8 | 182.3 |
| EBITDA margin, % | 66.1 | 71.3 | 74.8 | 78.2 | 80.2 |
FGC switched to RAB with a three-year regulatory period (2010-2012) on January 1, 2010. This summer the FTS confirmed the possible extension of the regulatory period on a three-plus-two basis, for FGC and for the regional grid companies.
FGC prepared an investment program for 2010-2014 totaling 954 billion rubles that was used to calculate the RAB tariff. The program has not received final approval yet.
Gazprombank said that sale of non-core assets inherited from RAO UES Russia could serve as once source of financing for the program. These include stakes in OGK-1, TGK-6, TGK-7 and Bashkirenergo.
State-owned FGC operates the unified national electricity grid.
RAB is a system of long-term tariff regulation that encourages long-term investment by insuring that invested capital will be recovered.
RTS$#&: BEGY, FEES