Moscow, 3 April 2007. On 19-20 April, 2007, an All-Russia Conference "Retail Electricity Market Development Strategy" will be held in the city of Sochi. The event will be attended by the senior managers of RAO "UES of Russia", chief executive officers of energy retail companies (ERCs), representatives of independent energy companies and members of the investment community.

During the Conference, its participants will review the results of energy retail activities in 2006, discuss the prospects for development of the retail electricity market, peculiarities of its regulation, and the strategy used by investors in the energy retail business.

Moreover, they will share the experience of RAO UES SDCs and independent retail companies working in a new environment which emerged with the advent of a new liberalized model of the wholesale and retail markets for electricity (capacity).

Special attention will be paid to the creation and development of Non-profit Partnership of Guarantee Suppliers and Energy Retail Companies. The Partnership, which was registered in late 2006, is intended to represent and protect the interests of retail electricity market participants, including independent retailers. Its objectives are to facilitate the creation of an efficient competitive retail market for electricity, prepare proposals for draft legal acts regulating energy retail activities on the electricity markets, and increase the efficiency and reliability of electricity supply to customers.