Starting June 2001 electricity tariffs in Moscow region will be pegged to voltage, said Myacheslav Val, chief expert of REK, the Moscow Regional Energy Commission. By preliminary estimates from REK, AO MOSENERGO will charge high voltage consumers (110-500 kilovolt) 18 kopecks per 1 kilowatt/hour. Medium voltage electricity (10-110 kilovolt) will cost 30-38 kopecks. Low voltage power (0.4-10 kilovolt) will be priced at 130-139 kopecks.
According to Val, differentiated tariffs are a constructive alternative to the current model of electricity pricing, which is based on cross-subsidies. The need to differentiate electricity tariffs is based on the transmission costs of high, medium and low voltage electricity in the region. The cost of transmitting high- and medium-voltage electricity makes up for 15 and 35 percent, respectively, of total MOSENERGO transmission costs while the cost of transmitting the low-voltage electricity to the population exceeds 50 percent.

The current industrial tariffs for electricity in Moscow region equal 80 kopecks per 1 kilowatt/hour, while citizens pay 35-50 kopecks per 1 kilowatt/hour. After differentiating electricity rates, the industry of Moscow region will be able to accumulate funds in order to upgrade the production capabilities. The increase in tariffs for the population should be compensated through increasing wages and subsidies from budgetary and production funds. Currently, AO MOSENERGO specialists, in conjunction with representatives of the Moscow Regional Energy Commission, are making the necessary calculations in order to introduce differentiated electricity rates.