Pavel Livinskiy, Head of the Rosseti Group of Companies, spoke at a field meeting of the Energy Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in Izhevsk. He presented the advantages that industrial and domestic consumers would receive as a result of the implementation of the Digital Transformation 2030 concept in the country's electric grid complex.

The head of the energy holding stressed that the target model for the development of the electric grid complex implemented in Udmurtia was presented to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and upheld by him: “We see that thanks to measures being implemented, including consolidation, digital transformation and the development of additional services, labor productivity is growing by 40%, operating expenses are reduced by 30%, capital expenditures are reduced by 15% (with physical volumes maintained at the same level), and reliability indicators (Psaidi and Psaifi) are improved by 2 times."

Pavel Livinskiy followed with a detailed presentation of legislative initiatives proposed by the holding. In the long term, these initiatives allow to ensure a stable financial and economic situation of electric networks and stop critical aging of equipment. They are also aimed at offering customers a range of popular additional services rather than just services for reliable and high-quality power supply.

"Regulatory measures are required to be taken to address issues related to cross-subsidization, payment of the power reserve and improvement of the system of charging fees for preferential utility connection to electric networks. Financing projects is important to be provided for the consolidation of electric grid assets from tariff sources and the introduction of new principles of long-term regulation based on regulatory agreements that are different from existing methods of return on invested capital and long-term indexation of necessary gross revenue," Pavel Livinskiy said.

Pavel Zavalny, Chairman of the Energy Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, called, in his opening remarks, the digital transformation of the electric grid compound the right trend. However, he said, problems are required to be solved in the energy sector rather than just processes automated, including by constructing fundamentally new and more effective models for managing the entire network complex.

"For this, the measures proposed by Rosseti regarding the sectoral regulation must be implemented. Practice shows, using the example of Udmurtia, that the consolidation of electric networks on the basis of a backbone network organization allows reducing operating and capital costs and, as a result, setting transparent affordable tariffs for consumers. The plans must be implemented on the basis of Russian equipment and software, as information and cybersecurity issues are critical," said Pavel Zavalny.

Alexander Brechalov, Head of Udmurtia, spoke about the successful cooperation between regional structures and energy companies. He recalled the consolidation of 80% of the Republic’s network assets on the basis of Rosseti. The project allowed the authorities to finance social projects, while Rosseti organized a digital City control station, the first one in Russia, from which all of Izhevsk’s network power facilities are managed. This ensures the comfort of citizens and stable power supply to industrial enterprises. This project was presented to the meeting's participants earlier in the morning.

“Everything we do is aimed at the benefit of the consumer who already feels the positive results of our cooperation. The holding becomes a reliable partner with whom we can build not only the most modern electric grid compound, but also make a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the whole Republic. And the first step in this direction - the signing of a long-term tariff agreement with the energy company - will be taken today," said the Head of Udmurtia.

Following the meeting, recommendations were prepared to the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the subjects of the electric power sector. The major tasks are: to create the necessary conditions for the sustainability of the electric grid compound and its complete digital transformation, ensure a significant increase in labor productivity, and, most importantly, ensure a reliable, accessible and affordable connection of consumers to power supply.