Boguchanskaya HPP will be lowered into the general water – Newspaper Kommersant No. 51 (7496) dated 03/27/2023
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The Ministry of Energy can force the Boguchanskaya HPP (JV RusHydro and Rusal) to increase the volume of energy supplies at low prices for the population. The station, as an exception, sells at a tariff of up to 5% of the annual energy production: such a preference was adopted to improve the payback conditions for the HPP. The transfer of HPPs to common rules, according to analysts, will reduce its revenue by at least 1.3 billion rubles. RusHydro and En+ warn that the changes will jeopardize the payment of a loan of 28 billion rubles issued by VEB for the construction of a hydroelectric power station.
Boguchanskaya HPP (3 GW) may be forced to increase the volume of electricity and capacity supplied at low tariffs for the population. Now the station has a preference: it is obliged to sell at a tariff only up to 5% of the annual volume of energy production, although all the rest – up to 35%. The Ministry of Energy proposes to “unify approaches” and cancel the specifics of regulation for individual stations, follows from the draft amendments of the ministry.
Power plants on the wholesale market must sell part of their energy under regulated contracts (RCs) at a reduced price to keep prices down for the public. The tariff for the RD is several times lower than the exchange prices: the tariff for electricity at the Boguchanskaya HPP is 49 rubles. per MWh, and the market price is almost 28 times higher.
The Boguchanskaya HPP on the Angara River was launched in 2012 and supplies most of the energy to the Boguchansky aluminum smelter. The HPP and the plant are owned on a parity basis by RusHydro and Rusal. In 2010, VEB.RF issued a loan of 50 billion rubles for their construction. In 2022, the HPP generated 20 billion kWh.
In Siberia, hydroelectric power plants sell 10% of their annual output through RD, says Matvey Taits from Sinara investment bank. If the Boguchanskaya HPP is transferred to the general rules, then it can increase the sale of electricity at a tariff of 1 billion kWh per year, which, according to the expert, may reduce its revenue by 1.3 billion rubles.
The income of the Boguchanskaya HPP from the sale of electricity last year amounted to 18.17 billion rubles, and from the sale of capacity – 9.66 billion rubles. The total revenue of the station in 2022 is 27.9 billion rubles, net profit is 13.69 billion rubles.
RusHydro and En+ (which owns a stake in Rusal) oppose the initiative of the Ministry of Energy. En+ recalls that the restriction on the volume of RD supply was introduced in 2014 to improve the payback conditions for the Boguchanskaya HPP, the only large plant built without a non-market mechanism of capacity supply agreements (CDA, guarantees high payments for capacity) and other surcharges.
“The abolition of this norm will not only make it impossible to fulfill the loan obligations of the Boguchanskaya HPP, but will serve as an unambiguous signal to investors about the impossibility of implementing projects in the energy sector outside the CSA mechanisms,” En + says. RusHydro warns that “the risks of violating the loan agreement with VEB.RF will multiply”.
The Ministry of Energy also wants to change the principle of formation of energy sales volumes at tariffs in Siberia: it is proposed to distribute supply volumes among suppliers in proportion to the volumes in the forecast balance of supplies, and not the cost of energy. This feature of the calculation applies only to Buryatia, where all consumers buy energy at reduced rates. The abolition of this rule will reduce the revenue of Siberian HPPs, RusHydro points out. The initiative, according to En+ estimates, will lead to a threefold increase in shortfall in revenues associated with deliveries through the RD to Buryatia. At the same time, Siberian Generating Company told Kommersant that they support the amendments, since they are in favor of a fair distribution of EP volumes between suppliers.
According to the estimates of the Market Council (energy market regulator), a change in the order of formation of RC volumes may lead to a reduction in the single-rate price in Siberia by 1–2%, but more accurate estimates are possible after the adoption of balance-volume decisions for 2024. In January of this year, the one-part price in Siberia increased by 17% yoy to 2.23 rubles. for 1 kWh. The regulator added that the volume of sales under RD in 2022 amounted to approximately 231 billion rubles. (an increase of 7% year on year, according to Kommersant’s estimates), of which 26 billion rubles. went to Siberia.
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