08 June 2004 15:33
Russian energy sector needs investors, not rise in tariffs - official
Yuriy Savelyev, a member of the Rodina bloc and deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Industry, Construction and
High Technology, discussed problems in the Russian energy sector in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio on 8 June.
He criticized the activities of the Unified Energy Systems (UES) of Russia, "We should ask our government if it
addresses these issues at all or is [UES CEO Anatoliy] Chubays allowed to commit excesses in Russia," Savelyev
said.
On the one hand, investors do not regard the energy sector as an attractive domain. On the other, energy providers
raise tariffs instead of trying to attract investors and do not use funds to develop the industry. UES uses this money
to buy Ren TV instead, or to pay its managers thousands of dollars in salaries, he added.
Savelyev went on to say that a rise in tariffs would affect, first of all, industrial enterprises. "It will push
them into debt and bankrupt them," he said.
It is necessary to increase state regulation and control over tariffs set by regional energy providers, Savelyev
concluded by saying.
[Ekho Moskvy radio] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
