Experts presented proposals to preserve the competitiveness of the Russian industrial sector

Representatives of industry, federal agencies and industry associations discussed proposals that will allow the Russian industrial sector to remain competitive in the global market in the current geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions.

The participants of the session "Electricity as a factor of competitiveness of Russian industry", which was held within the framework of Innoprom, discussed the dynamics of electricity prices and its impact on economic growth. Konstantin Konstantinov, Director of Energy and Climate Management at Evraz Holding, noted that energy-intensive industries are an important segment of the economy. According to him, they provide 25-30% of income tax revenues and 3.5–4 million direct employment jobs. He stressed that there is no competition between energy and industry, so these areas need coordinated and balanced decisions.

Ivan Mikhin, director of Rusal's aluminum division, noted with reference to the VEB Institute that by 2030, electricity prices for industry could double compared to 2024, and by 2042 - four times. He suggested changing the approach to paying for capacity for large industrial consumers with an even schedule of energy consumption and eliminating the burden that arises from consumers with uneven or seasonal schedules. In addition, he called for consideration of the possibility of canceling the increasing coefficients at a time when such companies are leaving the market.

Other proposals of the session participants included freezing tariffs for electricity transmission via the Unified National Electric Grid (UNES) within the projected inflation range and creating conditions for direct interaction between producers and consumers in individual energy hubs (with disconnection from UNES), reducing lending rates and easing tax policy for new investment projects in the electric power industry, a rational approach to localization and reducing cross-subsidization, as well as identifying priority projects and enterprises in key sectors of the energy-intensive industry with the creation of support mechanisms for them that will ensure an increase in the output of critical products. Another initiative was to separate energy-intensive consumers into a separate group and set prices for them at an economically reasonable level without non-market related cross-territorial subsidies and investment surcharges.

Oleg Russkov, Deputy General Director for Energy Efficiency at the Volga Abrasive Plant, suggested switching to a set of financial instruments that go beyond the traditional model. Vladimir Tupikin, Director of Energy and Resource Management at Sibur and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Energy Consumers Community Association, considers it necessary to prepare a concept for infrastructure bonds and debt obligations linked to the electricity market. There was also a proposal to use funds from non-governmental pension funds to reduce the cost of capital.

The panelists also called for coordination between the Ministry of Energy, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and industry associations to develop regulations to create a market for grid capacity reserves.

Olga Arutyunova, a representative of the Ministry of Energy, announced her readiness to extend government Decree No. 603 to the electric power industry, continue working with banks to reduce reserve requirements and prepare a report on the market for grid capacity reserves. The Ministry of Energy and the Federal Antimonopoly Service plan to present the concept of such a market in September.

Valery Dzyubenko, Director of the Association "Community of Energy Consumers", presenting the estimates of the ASPE on the international comparison of electricity prices for industry, noted that for energy-intensive industries there is a risk of losing the advantage that has supported the competitiveness of Russian producers in domestic and foreign markets for many years.

During the discussion, experts drew attention to the fact that over the past 10 years, the price of electricity in Russia has approximately doubled, and called for finding a balance between energy development and industrial support. As a result, the session participants agreed to collect proposals on the mechanisms under discussion over the next week and form a single package of recommendations for consideration by the Government of the Russian Federation.