Today, at 11:30 am the Yabloko political party held another meeting at Raushskaya embankment near AO MOSENERGO's headquarters. This is a second demonstration in a row for one and a half months. AO MOSENERGO's statement about the need to hike tariffs by 28% in order to implement a full-scale upgrade and replacement program caused the disturbance.

The limit on electricity and heat tariff growth in 2004 is expected to reach 13%. AO MOSENERGO management is ready to operate within these limits; however, economic calculations show that only a 28% tariff increase would ensure full-scale development of the company. The 13% hike is not enough to upgrade obsolete capacities and build new ones. It barely covers generation and transportation costs.

This approach to AO MOSENERGO's needs has existed for more than 10 years. Today, the capacity reserves created during Soviet times have been exhausted. The electricity grids need urgent modernization.

Apparently, these problems are of little concern to the Yabloko leadership. The party has intensified its activities before upcoming elections. The party's leadership is most concerned with elections to the State Duma and uses every possibility to attract potential voters.

AO MOSENERGO management regrets that Yabloko chose to exploit sensitive social problems thus trying to achieve its election goals. This kind of Yabloko political activity is based on populist slogans and misleads Muscovites about AO MOSENERGO's efficiency and complicates the operation of the city's power company.

The electricity sector is a strategic Moscow industry and the election-based superficial discussion and evaluation of AO MOSENERGO's population could damage the company, which in turn would be felt by all of its 4 million of consumers.