Crimean power grid is being taken over by Russian state-owned enterprise
The energy infrastructure of the Crimea, which is currently managed by a Crimean-owned enterprise, will be transferred under the control of JSC Krymenergo where the Kremlin has a 100% ownership stake, according to a representative of the Ministry of Energy, as reported by RBC news agency.
According to him, all of the facilities operated by the State Unitary Enterprise, Krymenergo, as well as the power grids that will be built as part of the federal program "Social and economic development of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol until 2020" will be transferred under the control of the new enterprise.
At the same time, Moscow will sign a special shareholder agreement with the authorities of the Crimea that will establish special procedures for managing the securities of JSC Krymenergo (the Republic's share in the company will be 25% plus one share).
The representative of the department stressed that, according to the government decree, the federally targeted program was amended to provide for the implementation of five additional activities "aimed at eliminating network restrictions and ensuring reliable and uninterrupted power supply to consumers" in the Crimea. 8.9 billion rubles ($155 million) will be allocated from the budget for this additional work.
The draft federal budget for 2018-2020 published on September 18th, indicated that the Ministry of Energy plans to contribute up to 9 billion rubles to the funds of state-owned Rosseti for the “Social and economic development of the Crimea and Sevastopol until 2020.".
The fact that energy reforms are planned in the Crimea, which presupposes the creation of a structure controlled by Kremlin-owned Rosseti for the management of the entire energy infrastructure, was earlier reported by Kommersant newspaper on September 22nd, citing its sources.
Two sources from RBC news ageny confirmed that JSC Krymenergo will be managed by Rosseti on behalf of the State. The representative of the energy holding assured that this type of project is being seriously discussed. The sources refused to provide more detailed comments.