FAS IS DEVELOPING MECHANISMS FOR ATTRACTING INVESTMENT IN RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Green energy is able to provide the region with cheaper electricity

The key topic of the session "Clean Energy of the Far East for people and new projects" within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum was the search for "long-term value" solutions that allow ensuring sustainable energy supply to the Far East, including through clean energy sources.

The session was opened by Vitaly Korolev, Deputy Head of the FAS Russia, who presented an overview of the situation in the energy sector of the Far East and outlined the contours of regulating this area to ensure a balance of interests between consumers and energy producers.

The speaker noted that one of the important achievements of the energy sector in the Far Eastern Federal District was the complete transition to long-term regulation:

• since 2020 electricity tariffs in isolated energy districts have become long-term;
• since 2021 thermal power plants have switched to long-term tariffs for a period of 5 years.

"In addition, from January 1, 2022 it is planned that hydroelectric power plants will also switch to long-term regulation. Now the FAS Russia is just preparing the necessary methodological guidelines. This transition will be another step towards the implementation of the Concept of Long-term Tariff Regulation prepared by the FAS Russia and approved by the Government of the Russian Federation this June," the Deputy Head of the FAS Russia added.

Vitaly Korolev also noted that long-term regulation has made possible to increase the investment attractiveness of the Far Eastern Federal District and make the activities of energy sector organizations more efficient.

The speaker paid special attention to the development of renewable energy sources (RES) in the Far East: "It is certainly difficult for RES to win competition from traditional generation, but their development looks quite promising in technologically isolated territories. In the same Arctic zone, there are quite a lot of hard-to-reach energy consumers, for whom electricity, due to a number of objective conditions, is more expensive than in other regions. Solar energy can solve this problem and reduce the cost of electricity."

Vitaly Korolev stressed that the FAS Russia is actively involved in the development of new measures to stimulate the production of electricity by renewable energy generating facilities.

The speaker also said that in addition to traditional renewable energy stations (hydro, solar and wind generation), the construction of nuclear power plants in isolated territories is now actively developing.

"In order to create conditions for the implementation of the investment project of the Baimsky GOK and other projects in the Arctic zone, the Authority offers to provide an opportunity to conclude contracts for the purchase and sale (capacity) in territories not connected with the Unified Energy System of Russia at a price determined by the agreement of the parties. We are talking about cases when only industrial consumers are present in the electric power system and there are no territorial grid organizations," the Deputy Head of the FAS Russia noted.