The study will be based on the results of a just finalized load-flow study by UCTE and was approved by UCTE AGM held in May this year. Full feasibility study will examine the technical aspects related to interconnecting the networks. This would include an examination of the prospects for trade in electricity, and the actual and potential bottlenecks in interconnection and the technical issues related to any incompatibility of the Russian electricity system with that of continental Europe.

The decision to launch the study was also welcomed by the European Commission, executive body of the European Union and its driving force. The Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the Development of Energy Policy for the Enlarged European Union, its Neighbours and Partner Countries says that the interconnection of the energy systems and creation of a common electricity market is in the clear interest of Russia and the European Union alike.

In connection with this, RAO "UES of Russia" would like to underline that the Energy Strategy of Russia approved by the Government of the Russian Federation on 22 May 2003 views the synchronous interconnection of the Unified Energy System of Russia with the energy systems of European Union as a high-priority task for Russia. The Energy Strategy stresses that the interconnection would provide for the non-discriminatory access to the European energy market and further development of trade relations, and will lead to major system advantages, as well as to a higher level of cooperation in the electricity.