3 Nov 2009 10:34

Federal Grid Co seeks three-year ownership of generating assets

MOSCOW. Nov 3 (Interfax) - Russia's Federal Grid Company (FGC) wants the law changed to enable it to combine grid operating functions with power generating and to keep hold of the assets that it inherited from RAO UES of Russia for a period of three years.

The Russian Energy Ministry said it had received the proposal and that a working group looked at it yesterday.

"A decision will be reached once the Energy Ministry has analyzed all the possible implications [of the proposed changes]," it said.

"The [grid] company wants to hold shares in generating companies and wait until the equity markets pick up before selling them to raise funds for its investment program," a grid company representative told Interfax. At the same time, "generating is not a core business for the FGC," he said.

The FGC received 23.6% of the shares in the TGK-6 generating company, 32.2% of Volga TGK , 27.5% of TGK-11 , 18.9% of Kuzbassenergo (