For development of joint solutions, the work group was created which will be headed by First Deputy Governor Leonid Iogman.

General Director of "Interregional Distribution Grid Company of North-West" Alexander Kukhmay arrived in the Vologda region for a two-day business visit. He held a number of meetings with heads of the large industrial enterprises in Vologda and Cherepovets, and had consultations with Head of the Regional Energy Commission and the management of Vologdaenergo branch.

Today, General Director of IDGC of North-West Alexander Kukhmay has held consultations with Governor of the Vologda region Vyacheslav Pozgalev. Director of Vologdaenergo branch of IDGC of North-West Alexander Klimanov and deputies governor also participated in the meeting.

The main issue which was discussed by the heads during the meeting was the risks of the shortfall in incomes of the regional energy enterprises in connection with the assumed decrease in the electric energy productive supplies volume.

Thus, the analysis of the situation held by the experts of the distribution grid company shows that at the scheduled assumed consumption of 10.4 bn kWh, in 2009 it actually will not exceed 7.7 bn kWh. This is considerably below the indicators of 2006 when the power consumption in the Vologda region reached 9.3 bn kWh.

The grid company runs a risk of non-agreement of the values approved in the tariff documents, such as a growth of accounts payable to contract parties, sequestering of repairs and investment programs and, as a consequence, decrease in electric power supplies reliability.

During the joint consultations, Alexander Kukhmay and Vyacheslav Pozgalev also discussed a course of realization of the "Programs of provision of reliability and development of the power supply system of the Vologda region till 2012".

Considering the economic situation which has developed in the region, the heads have agreed about updating the operating Program. It is expected that at the end of February 2009 the parties will pass to the stage of signing the Agreement between the Administration of the Vologda region and IDGC of North-West, JSC, which will specify the investment plans on the further development of the grid complex of the region for the nearest five years.

The meeting also discussed a transition to regulation of tariffs for services on electric energy transmission with an application of the regulatory asset base method (RAB) which, according to the decision of the government, is to be applied since 2011.

Following the results of the meeting of the IDGC of North-West General Director Alexander Kukhmay and the Vologda region Governor Vyacheslav Pozgalev, the decision was taken to create a work group headed by First Deputy Governor Leonid Iogman with participation of the Regional Energy Commission's representatives and subjects of electric power industry in order to study variants of solution of the problem of the shortfall in income of the power companies of the region.

The regional power commission of the Vologda region was charged with submitting the calculations on the income shortfalls in the region and individual tariffs revision proposals to the work group. The term set for execution of the Governor's assignments is two weeks.