Energy Reform Plan Approved
GOVERNMENT APPROVES ENERGY REFORM PLAN FOR 2004-2006
MOSCOW, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has signed a decree on the plan for the reform of Russia's energy system for the period from 2004 to 2006. The premier's press spokesman Alexander Zharov said this to reporters on Tuesday.
"The plan for the reform was not drastically amended compared to its originally approved version," said Mr. Zharov. "Timeframes and ministries responsible for drafting a number of documents were only changed."
The Economic Development and Trade Ministry's press service said the draft plan for the reform of Russia's energy system was submitted to the government on May 21. The government staff introduced changes to the draft.
The reform's deadline was shifted to 2006 and the composition of the ministries involved was changed due to the government reform, according to the press service.
"The Industry and Energy Ministry retained principal responsibility for the reform. The Economic Development Ministry still has to amend the provisions of the law on insolvency dealing with energy enterprises' bankruptcy," said the ministry's press service.
"Several items dealing with the directive (procedure) of representing the state at the Board of Directors of the Unified Energy Systems (UES) Co were also changed," added the press service.
According to an Industry and Energy Ministry source, the notion of "the government's directive" was absent from the original plan.
"The directive was proposed to be removed from the plan as the issue will have to be discussed all the same," said a ministry source.
"To the best of my knowledge the government staff has preserved the directive," added the source.
The ministry source said 2006 was a more realistic deadline.
"The deadlines were shifted as we are behind schedule with the first phase of the reform. The new deadline is more realistic," said the source.
Mr. Fradkov said on July 1 when meeting UES chief Anatoly Chubais that the plan for the further energy reform would be considered at a government meeting in December next year.
"Terminating one of the key structural reforms is out of the question today," said Mr. Fradkov.
It is the executive authorities that are responsible for the reform and its outcomes, while the government must look into intermediate results and assess reform efficiency, according to Mr. Fradkov.
Mr. Fradkov also said it was important to decide what legislative acts should be adopted to achieve the major objective: to create a competitive energy market in Russia, which would be efficiently regulated by the state.
The premier also deemed it necessary to look into the reform's possible impacts on energy tariffs in provinces, on inter-budget relationships, and its relevance to the problem of cross-subsidies.
