Russian Grids JSC General Director Oleg Budargin met with representatives from small and medium business today at Opora Russia, a Russian national public organisation, to discuss the preferred direction of their cooperation.

Oleg Budargin noted the presence of many issues that Russian Grids and Opora Russia would like to jointly resolve. The head of Russian Grids JSC noted that “We are ready to create a working group to jointly discuss pressing issues affecting the industry which Russian entrepreneurs are currently facing in their day-to-day business operations.”

The meeting particularly focused on the issues surrounding the cooperation between small and medium business and companies in the Russian distribution grid complex in terms of innovative and energy-saving projects. During the discussion it was noted that in the course of innovative work conducted by Russian Grids, over 100 contractors were involved in implementing R&D projects, around 40% of which were small and medium businesses.

The company is currently actively executing various stages of a road map approved by the Russian government for ensuring greater access of small and medium businesses to purchasing infrastructural monopolies and publicly owned companies. At the beginning of 2014, Russian Grids approved a Programme of Partnering with small and medium businesses. This document affords representatives from small and medium businesses additional incentives to participate in procurement procedures in the general and annual volume of deliveries necessary to meet the needs of the Russian Grids Group as well as the procurement of high-tech products. Russian Grids JSC has created advisory bodies responsible for publicly accounting the efficiency of procurement, which includes ensuring the use of cutting-edge process solutions. A Registry of Partnership Program Participants is also currently being created. Participation in the program is voluntary and free for representatives from small and medium businesses. A list of goods and services which will be procured only through small and medium businesses is also being created.

Representatives from small and medium businesses at the meeting gave their approval of the present execution of the road map for increasing accessibility to the energy infrastructure. They noted that over the last two years, the process of connecting to the energy grids has been conducted significantly faster and the prices have significantly decreased for consumers.