Headline: Battling vested interests to get utilities to perform Source: Euromoney Date: September 2001 Author: Ben Aris Russia’s vast utilities are gravely afflicted. In desperate need of investment to rebuild worn-out plant and distribution networks, they are also drained of income because of uneconomic pricing and persistent corruption. Ben Aris reports on the progress of restructuring
Putin followed through with plans for power grid company United Energy Systems and the ministry of railways. Telecoms reform has already begun. Fixing the problems with the natural monopolies will have wide-ranging implications. Much of Russia’s deadwood industry has been able to survive over the past decade because it receives an implicit subsidy from the state in the form of below-market prices for energy. |