News

December 2 the law firm VEGAS LEX together with the representatives of the FTS and with the participation of the Ministry of Energy held a round table discussion on "New tariff rules for Power industry", dedicated to the detailed coverage of the Government Decree № 877 of the Russian Federation. The event, organized at the Conference Centre Swissotel, was attended by the heads of legal departments and chief executives of the generation and distribution companies, as well as representatives of large electricity consumer companies.

Alexander Sitnikov, Partner, Managing Director at VEGAS LEX was a moderator of the round table. He acknowledged the value of the Government Resolution № 877  of the Russian Federation and offered to provide support in matters related to this Resolution. Anna Izotova, Head of the Federal Tariff Service of Russia, described in details the legal aspect of the price regulation for the Power industry.

Maria Golovko, representative of  the Regulatory Acts Department of the FTS of Russia, followed Anna Izotova's topic and spoke about the legal aspects of the new decree draft of the Russian Government; in particular, about the basics of pricing in the Power sector, including the best practice of the energy saving law implementation. Ivan Stepanenko, Deputy Head of the Federal Tariff Service of Russia, attracted the attention of the audience to the controlling functions of the FTS of Russia in resolving disputes. Batradz Metz, Head of the Legal Protection of the Legal Department at the FTS of Russia, reported about the judicial practice in the field of pricing and tariffs of the FTS of Russia.

Andrei Maximov, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Energy, touched upon the specifics of pricing and forming limits of unregulated prices in the retail market of electricity (capacity) in 2012: the transition from 3 to 6 price groups, calculation, accounting obligations, and other features. In addition, Evgeniy Rodin, Head of Energy Projects Group at the law firm VEGAS LEX, analyzed the disputes between the subjects of wholesale and retail markets, the disputes which are associated with the use of regulated tariffs. Natalia Erina, Senior Associate of the Group, considered the grounds for challenging the established price and the ways of proof in challenging the tariffs.

The program of the roundtable was very intense and very helpful to the participants due to its efficient format which allowed getting answers to very specific questions related to the participants' business.