Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
is the fourth largest generator and consumer of electricity in the world.
Its 440 power stations have a combined installed generation capacity of 220 GW.
Russia has a single
synchronous electrical grid encompassing much of the country. The Russian electric grid links over of power lines, of which are high voltage cables over 220 kV.
Electricity generation is based largely on gas (46%), coal (18%), hydro (18%), and nuclear (17%) power.
60% of thermal generation (gas and coal) is from
combined heat and power
Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time.
Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...
plants.
Russia operates 31 nuclear power reactors in 10 locations, with an installed capacity of 21 GW.
Despite considerable geothermal and wind resources, this accounts for less than one percent.
[ ]
History
Tsarist period
The electric power industry first developed in Russia under the
Tsarist regime
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...
. The industry was highly regulated particularly by the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance.
Lists of current ministries of finance
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Finance and Ec ...
, the
Ministry of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce.
Notable examples are:
List
*Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
and the
Ministry of Internal Affairs
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
. This led to considerable delay as
electrification
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histo ...
was not made a priority in the process of industrialisation.
Provisional Government (1917)
The eight months of the
provisional government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...
laid the groundwork for a state-owned approach to electrification as part of their move towards a centrally
planned economy
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...
. They set up the
Central Economic Committee.
Soviets electrification
Electrification was a key part of the Bolshevik political programme:
This led to the creation of the
GOELRO plan
GOELRO (russian: link=no, ГОЭЛРО) was the first Soviet plan for national economic recovery and development. It became the prototype for subsequent Five-Year Plans drafted by Gosplan. GOELRO is the transliteration of the Russian abbreviatio ...
(russian: план ГОЭЛРО) as the first-ever
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
plan for national economic recovery and development. It was the prototype for subsequent
Five-Year Plans drafted by
Gosplan
The State Planning Committee, commonly known as Gosplan ( rus, Госплан, , ɡosˈpɫan),
was the agency responsible for central economic planning in the Soviet Union. Established in 1921 and remaining in existence until the dissolution of ...
. GOELRO is the transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for "State Commission for Electrification of Russia" (Государственная комиссия по электрификации России).
Post Soviet development
After the collapse of the Soviet Union Unified Energy System of Russia
RAO UES
OAO RAO UES (OAO Unified Energy System of Russia; russian: ЕЭС России or russian: Единая Энергетическая Система) was an electric power holding company in Russia. It controlled about 70% of Russia's installed el ...
was founded as state-owned (50%) company. From 1992 to 2008 it was the largest electric power holding company. Four energy companies - Novosibirskenergo, Tatenergo, Irkutskenergo and Bashenergo - managed to avoid incorporation into RAO UES.
Privatization and reform
In 2002, the Russian government began reforming the power sector. The main goal was and remains upgrading the aging and outdated heating and electricity infrastructure. The restructuring involved the separation and privatization of the generation, transmission and sales companies. The grids were brought under regulatory supervision.
Power generation was divided up into seven wholesale generating companies (OGK) – including
RusHydro, 14 territorial generating companies (TGK), independents and state-owned entities. OGKs contain power plants and specialize mainly in electric power generation. TGKs contain predominantly combined heat and power plants (CHPs).
The gradual liberalization of the wholesale electricity market, completed in January 2011, now allows producers to charge market prices. The transmission grid remains mostly under state control.
As a result of the reorganization,
Inter RAO UES
Joint Stock Company Inter RAO UES (russian: Публичное акционерное общество «ИНТЕР РАО ЕЭС», short form: Inter RAO), traded as, is a diversified energy holding company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Its ...
became a major generating company in Russia in the field of export and import of electric power. The total installed capacity of the power plants owned or managed by the company is around 18,000 MW. The company's main types of activities are generation of electric and thermal power, sales of electric and thermal power to consumers and export and import of electric power.
Post-reform developments
Price increase followed the reform process, 3-4 times the margin set by regulatory authorities.
In November 2011, then prime minister
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
tasked the
Ministry for Economic Development (Russia)
The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство экономического развития Российской Федерации) is a federal ministry in the Russian Government. The ministry ...
, the
Ministry of Energy (Russia) and the 'Federal Tariffs Service' to draft a government resolution restricting the profitability of electric utilities. This "restricted the ability of electric utilities to make money from providing services other than supplying electricity"
As of 2013, Russia had no
wholesale electricity market
In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had u ...
. The Ministry for Energy of Russia, concerned with price increases envisions a wholesale market under bi-lateral contracts between consumers and specific power plants.
Inter RAO
Joint Stock Company Inter RAO UES (russian: Публичное акционерное общество «ИНТЕР РАО ЕЭС», short form: Inter RAO), traded as, is a diversified energy holding company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Its ...
and
Gazprom
PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the large ...
Energy Holding were lobbying for a different one.
Equipment producers
Power Machines
OJSC Power Machines ( translit. Siloviye Mashiny abbreviated as Silmash, russian: ОАО «Силовы́е маши́ны») is a Russian energy systems machine-building company founded in 2000. It is headquartered in Saint Petersburg.
Power M ...
is the leading Russian equipment producer, with a share of over 50%.
It unites production, supply, construction, maintenance and modernization of equipment for thermal, nuclear, hydraulic and gas turbine power plants. The following big international energy equipment holdings are well established and have joint ventures or their own production facilities in Russia:
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
,
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...
,
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational corporation, multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the A ...
,
ABB,
Skoda Power,
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi ...
,
Ansaldo Energia
Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company. It is based in Genoa, Italy. The absorbed parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., started in 1853. It was taken over by Leonardo S.p.A. In 2011, Leonardo S.p.A. sold 45% stake in ...
, and
Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
.
Power companies
Territorial generating companies
*
TGK-1 - North-West (Leningrad, Murmansk Oblasts and Karelia);
*
TGK-2 - north of Central Russia, Vologda and Arkhangelsk Oblasts;
*
Mosenergo
Mosenergo (also known as TGK-3;) is a Russian power generating company operating on fossil fuel and a large thermal generation. In addition to electric power it also generates and sells heat for consumers in Moscow and the Moscow Oblast. The compa ...
(TGK-3) - Moscow and Moscow Oblast;
*
Quadra (TGK-4) - Black Earth and southern regions of Central Russia (12 Oblasts in all);
*
T Plus Group:
**
TGK-5 - Kirov Oblast, Udmurtia, Mari El and Chuvashia;
**
TGK-6 - east of Central Russia, Penza Oblast;
**
TGK-7 - Middle Volga and Orenburg Oblast;
**
TGK-9 - Perm Krai, Sverdlovsk Oblast and Komi Republic;
*
Lukoil-Ecoenergo (TGK-8) - Southern Federal District;
*
Fortum
Fortum Oyj is a Finnish state-owned energy company located in Espoo, Finland. In addition to Finland, it focuses on Germany and other countries in Central Europe, Great Britain, Russia and the Nordic region. Fortum operates power plants, inc ...
(TGK-10) - Urals Federal District (except for Sverdlovsk Oblast);
*
TGK-11 - Omsk and Tomsk Oblasts;
*
Siberian Generation Company:
**
Kuzbassenergo (TGK-12) - Kemerovo Oblast and Altai Krai;
**
Yenisei Territorial Generation Company (TGK-13) - Krasnoyarsk Krai, Khakassia and Tyva;
*
TGK-14 - Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Krai.
Wholesale generating and other companies
*
Inter RAO
Joint Stock Company Inter RAO UES (russian: Публичное акционерное общество «ИНТЕР РАО ЕЭС», short form: Inter RAO), traded as, is a diversified energy holding company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Its ...
**
OGK-1
The First Generation Company of the Wholesale Electricity Market (OGK-1) was a large Russian company formed by the merger of six electricity generation companies.
History
The company was established in 2005 by merging six power plants into one co ...
- merged into
Inter RAO
Joint Stock Company Inter RAO UES (russian: Публичное акционерное общество «ИНТЕР РАО ЕЭС», short form: Inter RAO), traded as, is a diversified energy holding company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Its ...
in 2012
**
OGK-3
OGK-3 (meaning: The Third Generation Company of the Wholesale Electricity Market – WGC-3) was a Russian power company. The stock was traded on the MICEX-RTS stock exchange.
History
OGK-3 was formed in 2004 by merger of six electricity generati ...
- merged into
Inter RAO
Joint Stock Company Inter RAO UES (russian: Публичное акционерное общество «ИНТЕР РАО ЕЭС», short form: Inter RAO), traded as, is a diversified energy holding company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Its ...
in 2012
*
OGK-2
**
OGK-6 - merged into OGK-2 in 2010
*
Unipro
UniPro (or Unified Protocol) is a high-speed interface technology for interconnecting integrated circuits in mobile and mobile-influenced electronics. The various versions of the UniPro protocol are created within the MIPI Alliance (Mobile Industr ...
(OGK-4)
*
Enel Russia (OGK-5)
*
Irkutskenergo - independent vertically integrated company, it owns the production and distribution facilities supplying the Irkutsk region.
*
RusHydro - excluded from the 2003 reform law, as it is considered a strategic asset.
*
Rosenergoatom
Rosenergoatom (russian: Росэнергоатом) is the Russian nuclear power station operations subsidiary of Atomenergoprom.
Ownership and Formation
The company was established on 7 September 1992 in Presidential decree 1055: "''On operat ...
- state-owned company controlling all nuclear power generation assets.
Transmission and distribution companies
*
Rosseti
PAO Rosseti is a Russian power company, comprises interregional and regional distribution grid companies (IDGCs/RDGCs), research and development institutes, design and construction institutes, and construction and sales entities. Ninety-seven s ...
**
MOESK - Moscow metropolitan area
**
FGC UES
OAO FGC UES (russian: Федеральная сетевая компания Единой энергетической системы, Federalinaya Setevaya Companiya Edinoy Energeticheskoy Sistemy, Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy System) ...
Supply companies
Largest supply companies:
* OJSC
First Supply Company
* OJSC
Saint Petersburg Supply Company
* OJSC
Samaraenergo
* OJSC
EK Vostok
Isolated energy systems
Some parts of the country have limited connections to the Russian unified energy system, reducing the likelihood that new companies will enter the energy supply market by importing energy from neighboring energy systems. Those areas, defined as "non-price" zones, include Kaliningrad Oblast, the Komi Republic, Arkhangelsk Oblast, the south of the Sakha Republic, Primorsk Krai, Khabarovsk Krai, Amur Oblast, and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.
Additionally, some parts of Russia are completely isolated from the unified energy system, including Kamchatka, Magadan Oblast, Sakhalin Oblast, Chukotka and Taimyr Autonomous Okrug, the western and central parts of the Sakha Republic, as well as many remote settlements across the country.
Energy prices in "non-price" and isolated regions are exempt from liberalization and remain regulated.
Consumption
In 2008 the end use of electricity was 4.3% (726 TWh) of the world total (16,819 TWh).
In 2008 the gross production of electricity was 5.1% (1,038 TWh) of the world total (20,181 TWh).
[IEA Key stats 2010]
pages electricity 27 gas 13,25 fossil 25 nuclear 17
Mode of production
According to the
IEA the Russian gross production of electricity was 1,038 TWh in 2008 and 930 TWh in 2004 giving the 4th top position among the world producers in 2008. Top ten countries produced 67% of electricity in 2008. The top producers were: 1)
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
21.5% 2)
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
17.1% 3)
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
5.3% 4) Russia 5.1% 5)
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
4.1% 6)
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
3.2% 7)
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
3.1% 8)
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
2.8% 9)
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
2.3% and 10)
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
2.2%. The rest of the world produced 33%.
Gas
The share of
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...
fuelled electricity was 48% of the gross electricity production in 2008 in Russia (495 TWh / 1,038 TWh.
Coal and peat
The share of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
and
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...
electricity was 19% of the gross electricity production in 2008 in Russia (187 TWh / 1,038 TWh).
Nuclear power
In 2008 Russian federation was the 4th country by nuclear electricity production with 163 TWh (6% of the world total).
According to the
IEA 15.7% of Russian domestic electricity was generated by nuclear power in 2008.
In 2009 Russia had in total 31 nuclear reactors
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic ...
Our Choice, A plan to solve the climate crises, Bloomsbury 2009 pages 156, 159 and installed capacity in 2008 23 GW.
Nuclear reactor construction and export
In 2006 Russia had exported nuclear reactors to Armenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, India, Iran, Lithuania, Slovak Republic and Ukraine. In Russia, the average construction time was in 1) 1965-1976 57 months and 2) 1977-1993 72–89 months, but the four plants that have been completed since then have taken around 180 months (15 years), due to increased opposition following the
Chernobyl accident
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nucl ...
and the political changes after 1992.
[The Economics of Nuclear Power](_blank)
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
5.12.2007
Hydropower
hydroelectric power plant
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
s generated 167 TWh from a total capacity of 47 GW.
Russia is the 5th-largest producer of electricity from hydropower in the world, accounting for 5.1% of the world's hydroelectric generation.
The use of other renewable sources for electricity in 2008 was not significant in the Russian Federation, according to the statistics of the IEA in terms of electricity volume in 2008.
Electricity imports
As of 2010, Russia imports 17.5% of its total electricity consumption, with about 90% originating from Kazakhstan and Georgia.
Inter RAO
Joint Stock Company Inter RAO UES (russian: Публичное акционерное общество «ИНТЕР РАО ЕЭС», short form: Inter RAO), traded as, is a diversified energy holding company headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Its ...
has a monopoly on electricity imports in the country.
Power stations
Electrical grid
The ''IPS/UPS'' is a
wide area synchronous transmission grid of some
CIS countries
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
with a common mode of operation and centralized supervisory control. It has an installed generation capacity of 300
gigawatts
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...
, and produces 1,200
terawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
-hours (TWh) per year for its 280 million customers. The system spans eight time zones.
[
]
Kyoto carbon allowances
The revenues from Kyoto allowances via
Joint Implementation Joint Implementation (JI) is one of three flexibility mechanisms set out in the Kyoto Protocol to help countries with binding greenhouse gas emissions targets (the Annex I countries) meet their treaty obligations. Under Article 6, any Annex I coun ...
projects sales can be significant – in the billions of euros in the cases of Russia. If a number of (relatively strict) criteria were filled JI projects could be implemented during the Kyoto protocol agreement, for which no international third-party checking or
UN approval was needed. According to
Transparency International
Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...
a lack of regulation in
carbon trading
Emission trading (ETS) for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) is a form of carbon pricing; also known as cap and trade (CAT) or carbon pricing. It is an approach to limit climate change by creating a market with limited ...
poses the risk of fraud. In 2009 it was not in all cases clear which government organisations had the authority to sell the surplus and how transparently and accountably such transfers of public wealth were carried out.
Global Corruption Report 2009, Corruption and the Private Sector
Transparency International
Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...
2009 page 45
See also
* IPS/UPS
The IPS/UPS is a wide area synchronous transmission grid of some CIS countries, with a common mode of operation and centralized supervisory control. It has an installed generation capacity of 300 gigawatts, and produces 1,200 terawatt-ho ...
: the unified energy system of Russia and other former Soviet countries
* Energy in Russia
Energy consumption across Russia in 2020 was 7,863 TWh. Russia is a leading global exporter of oil and natural gas and is the fourth highest greenhouse emitter in the world. As of September 2019, Russia adopted the Paris Agreement In 2020, ...
* Energy policy of Russia
Russia's energy policy which is set out in the government's ''Energy Strategy'' document, first approved in 2000, which sets out the government's policy to 2020 (later prolonged up to 2030). The Energy Strategy outlines several key priorities: ...
* Electric energy markets by country
References
External links
Post-Soviet Developmentalism and the Political Economy of Russia’s Electricity Sector Liberalization
{{Asia topic , Electricity sector in