Within 2016, Oboronenergosbyt, JSC, one of the largest consumers of electricity transmission services, has been unable to comply with its contractual obligations to IDGC of Volga, PJSC (a member of Rosseti Group of Companies) and increased its debt. As of December 20, 2016, the total debt of Oboronenergosbyt to IDGC of Volga, PJSC in the Saratov region for the last 12 months, including overdue advance payment for December, is nearly 288 million rubles.

A similar situation is observed in other branches of IDGC of Volga, PJSC. Oboronenergosbyt, JSC neglects the repeated requests of the grid operators to comply with the legal requirements of timely payment for the power transmission services. The debt continues to accumulate, which, given its amount, may lead to the destabilization of the energy security in the region.

The situation could worsen if Oboronenergosbyt loses its status of a Provider of Last Resort for the Ministry of Defense and will cease its operations by the bankruptcy. In this case, debt collection will become even more problematic. Other territorial grid companies also continue the policy of non-payment, making it a hard work for IDGC of Volga, PJSC to maintain a reliable power supply to consumers during the winter peak loads. So, for example, as of December 22, 2016, the debt of NESK, CJSC is about 38.3 million rubles, SPGES, JSC — 321.8 million rubles, RT-ET, LLC — 39.9 million rubles.