Moscow Deputy Mayor Valery Shantsev was cited saying damage caused by the incident should be compensated by the federal government, noting it would be impossible to ensure uninterrupted power supply in the city without participation by the Moscow authorities. The administration had repeatedly accused Mosenergo management of seeking to inflate profit by cutting investment in the modernization of aging infrastructure, neglecting safety concerns and ignoring citizens’ interests, the paper’s article said.

One route to compensation was acquisition by Moscow authorities of controlling stakes in companies to be spun off from the Mosenergo power utility, currently being reformed, the report added. This was how the federal government had supported Moscow administration financially - not with cash but with shares in state-owned companies. “If we demand compensation from RAO UES and Mosenergo, we will not be able to effectively develop the energy system. We will simply not have enough funds,” Shantsev was quoted as saying.

But Mosenergo’s management was reckoned unhappy with the prospect of being controlled by the city’s government. “If Moscow wants to control the company, let it buy our shares,” Sergei Pronin, Mosenergo’s deputy chief engineer, said in a reported comment, calling action by the company’s employees during the blackout highly professional. Responding to Shantsev’s criticism of inadequate investment in modernizing production, Pronin was cited saying Mosenergo spent billions of dollars annually on upgrading.

Now, said the newspaper, Moscow Mayor Luzhkov and Anatoly Chubais, head of grid supplier RAO Unified Energy Systems, would be addressing the question that had long been on Luzhkov’s mind: “Why on earth must Moscow pay Chubais for its own energy system created by several generations of Moscovites?”

It has long been on record that Mayor Luzhkov seeks control over the power utility, and that Chubais wants full compensation at market value. Several years ago, conflict became so acute that President Vladimir Putin had to intervene. At that time, Luzhkov was left empty-handed. But now, Chubais can scarce hope for Kremlin support.

Chubais told reporters on Thursday that damage caused by Wednesday’s blackout should and would be compensated in full. Damage caused to the generating sub-station at Chagino, where an explosion led to the breakdown, was insured against. Compensation was determined at law for damage incurred by consumers, Chubais said. Asked about his possible departure from office, he said it was “in the hands of shareholders.” The main shareholder in the company is the Russian government.