Reforming the Russian Electricity Sector
Russia's power system is enormous consisting of more than 200 gigawatts of generation capacity, most of it interconnected by 2.5 million kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines spanning an area only slightly smaller than the United States and Canada combined. In early 1997 the Russian government approved in principle the now-common model of electricity sector reform: vertically separating generation, transmission, and distribution; introducing competition where possible; strengthening the regulation of functions less amenable to competition; and divesting government ownership. This model has been implemented in many countries, and the story of the reform would be relatively routine if not for special characteristics of the Russian power system: its size, diverse ownership, high level of nonpayments, and the combined heat and power role of many generating plants. This Note outlines the challenges posed by these characteristics and reports on reform achievements so far.
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
1998-04
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| Subjects: | ACCOUNTING, CASH PAYMENTS, COAL, COGENERATION, DEBT, DEBT FINANCING, ECONOMIC REFORM, ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICITY PRICES, ELECTRICITY PRICING, ELECTRICITY SECTOR, ELECTRICITY SECTOR REFORM, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, FINANCIAL VIABILITY, GENERATORS, GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP, HEAT, HEATING, INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS, OIL, POWER, POWER PLANTS, POWER SECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION, REGULATORY AGENCY, TAX, VOLTAGE POWER SECTOR, COMPETITION (ECONOMIC), PRIVATIZATION, CORRUPTION, OWNERSHIP, DECENTRALIZATION, POWER GENERATION, POWER SECTOR REFORM, USER FEES, USER CHARGES, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1998/04/441758/reforming-russian-electricity-sector https://hdl.handle.net/10986/11556 |
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| Summary: | Russia's power system is enormous
consisting of more than 200 gigawatts of generation
capacity, most of it interconnected by 2.5 million
kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines spanning an
area only slightly smaller than the United States and Canada
combined. In early 1997 the Russian government approved in
principle the now-common model of electricity sector reform:
vertically separating generation, transmission, and
distribution; introducing competition where possible;
strengthening the regulation of functions less amenable to
competition; and divesting government ownership. This model
has been implemented in many countries, and the story of the
reform would be relatively routine if not for special
characteristics of the Russian power system: its size,
diverse ownership, high level of nonpayments, and the
combined heat and power role of many generating plants. This
Note outlines the challenges posed by these characteristics
and reports on reform achievements so far. |
|---|