Year 2000 results show that industry debts owed to MOSENERGO for received power fell by more than 1.4 billion rubles. On January 1, 2000, industrial customer debt payment totaled 4,137,000,000 rubles. By January 1, 2001, this figure had fallen to 2,885,000,000 rubles.

MOSENERGO affliate Energosbyt officials said that the process of repaying debt and making current payments is becoming more stable. At the beginning of November 2000 federal-level enterprise debt was 1.9 billion rubles. Currently the figure has fallen to 1.1 billion, making up 40 percent of the total debt.

MOSENERGO is actively working with industrial debtors to sign agreements to repay their debts and make ongoing payments for heat and power. Such agreements have been signed with 67 large industrial enterprises. Among them are the Tupolev plane manufacturing company and the Gorizont design bureau.

"Last summer we rose to the challenge. We managed to change customer thinking. In the past when customers did not pay the bill, they still continued to receive power. Now they understand that power is a commodity that one has to pay for," said V.Cheledenkov, head of Energosbyt's City Bureau on Industry Customers.