Moscow, 27 February. The US/Russia Electricity Markets Conference was held on 24-26 February 2002 in Washington, DC, under the auspices of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). The Conference discussed the United States' experience in electricity industry restructuring and the possible impact of the electricity sector reforms in Russia.

The Conference was attended by a RAO UES delegation headed by Vyacheslav Sinyugin, Deputy CEO of the Holding Company. Other participants included experts in electricity, government officials and representatives from the Russian and US regulators.

In the course of the concrete and intensive discussion at the Conference, the delegates reviewed the plans for electricity sector restructuring in the Russian Federation after the Duma's recent approval of the energy reform package. The Conference participants stated that the Russian electricity sector restructuring was paramount for the development of a market economy in Russia.

The US delegates said that the electricity industry restructuring in the USA was making good progress, and the US Government intended to continue with implementation of the reforms, taking into account the mistakes made in the course of electricity sector restructuring in California. The Conference participants agreed that US-Russian cooperation in energy, particularly in the electricity sector, ought to become one of the chief factors contributing to the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries. According to the speakers, such cooperation might enhance global energy security, improve the US-Russian trade relations, and contribute to the development of new technologies for an increased use of renewable energy sources and efficient low-impact technologies.

The Russian and US delegates emphasized that the energy cooperation paved the way for the development of relations between private companies in both countries, contributing to the mutually beneficial exchange of information on the issues of organization and management of the electricity sector.

The parties agreed that the discussion of these issues at the forthcoming US-Russia summit on electricity would facilitate the achievement of the goals set by the Conference.