Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service to allow RusHydro to ensure power grid asset allocation through 2025 - member of co's board

MOSCOW. Jan 29 (Interfax) - Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) will allow PJSC RusHydro to ensure the allocation of electric grid assets through 2025, Roman Berdnikov, a member of the company's board, told reporters on the sidelines of Energy Day at the All-Russian-Exhibition Center.

"The launch of a price zone [in the Far East] and the allocation of network assets are not entirely related. FAS allowed us to ensure the allocation until 2025. Therefore, we are now considering various separation models. Then we will await official confirmation of the launch of the price zone," Berdnikov said.

RusHydro owns a number of power grid assets in the Far East, which is currently included in the non-price zone of the energy market. It is planned to add the Far East to the 2nd price zone of the energy market as of July 2025. At the same time, the law on the electric power industry prohibits the combination of generation and transmission activities.

In the spring of 2023, FAS announced that it was developing a plan for the separation of power grid assets from RusHydro. RusHydro then responded that the decision on the fate of these assets would be up to the authorities, but the company would not want to "donate" any assets. Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov, during a speech at the Eastern Economic Forum in 2023, announced that the company would receive a transition period. "The owner will determine in what time frame this can be done," Shulginov said.