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The conference, Strategic goals of the Russian energy sector in the new environment: Robustness and growth, took place on March 17, 2015, as part of Russian Business Week 2015. Alexander Sitnikov, managing partner at VEGAS LEX, delivered a report at the event.

The uniqueness of the format in which the session was arranged is worth a special mention, as it was the first time that as many as 40 experts gathered at the same table to discuss some of the long-standing sensitive issues in the energy sector. The speakers included representatives of the government and business, including Deputy Energy Minister Vyacheslav Kravchenko, Deputy Head of the Department for Tariff Regulation, Infrastructure Reform and Energy Efficiency at the Economic Development Ministry Yevgeny Olkhovich, directors of the nonprofit partnership Community of Energy Consumers Vasily Kiselyov and Igor Mironov, head of the Non-Commercial Partnership of Guaranteed Suppliers and Power Sales Companies Natalya Nevmerzhitskaya, head of the Coordination of Operation and Energy Supply Department at LUKoil Vasily Zubakin, Director General of Gazprom Energoholding Denis Fyodorov and others.

During the discussion, Mr. Sitnikov outlined a range of issues that are important for the sector’s legal regulation, such as imperfect regulatory acts and responsibility for the quality of power supplied. “The liability for poor quality of energy supplies is currently limited to actual damage, according to the Civil Code, which means there is no way to claim lost profits. Judicial practice is not developing fast enough, mainly because in a number of cases, the elements of offence formally allow the court to reject the claim of damages. It happens either when there is not enough evidence of the size of damage, or when it is impossible to prove the causal connection between the action and the damage,” he said.

The participants also discussed a potential unified strategy for modernizing energy facilities, a market model that would make investments in the sector pay back, and the possibilities of simplifying the process of shutting down inefficient facilities.

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The RSPP Russian Business Week is a central platform for constructive interaction between the government and the business community. VEGAS LEX is the traditional partner of the event and helps organize several conferences and roundtables on its program.

For more information on the firm’s services to the energy sector, please go here.