From Baikal to Amur we will feed the main line – Kommersant
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According to Kommersant, after several years of discussions, it became clear with the sources of financing for the expansion of power grids for the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway. According to Kommersant, the government decided that the deficit of the Rosseti investment program in the amount of 260 billion rubles. will be closed, in addition to raising the tariff for electricity transmission, also by reducing the payment of dividends until 2026 and transferring funding for the investment program in the amount of 100 billion rubles. for 2023–2027. Analysts and sources of “Kommersant” in the market emphasize that thus investments in infrastructure construction will have to be paid for by consumers and shareholders of the grid complex.
The government decided to close the shortage of funds from Rosseti (Federal Grid Company – Rosseti, manages the backbone and distribution grids in the Russian Federation) for the construction of power grids at the Eastern Test Site in the amount of 260 billion rubles. until 2026 from several sources, follows from the materials of the commission on the development of the railway infrastructure of Siberia and the Far East, which took place on May 24 (Kommersant has it). In addition to the already well-known measure to increase the electricity transmission tariff by 6.3% in 2023 (see Kommersant dated May 2), it was also decided to shift the financing of the Rosseti investment program to 2023–2027, which will free up to 100 billion rubles . for the construction of power grids for the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Rosseti is building new substations and backbone networks to expand the carrying capacity of the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway to 182 million tons by 2024, and the third stage of expansion is also expected – up to 185 million tons in 2028 and 210 million tons in 2031. In total, the state holding is to build 25 facilities. The question of sources of financing for this construction has been worked out for several years. Among other things, it was proposed to finance it from the budget and funds of the National Welfare Fund. Also, as Kommersant wrote on December 29, 2022, the option of selling 8.57% of Inter RAO owned by FGC for 23 billion rubles was considered, but the parties eventually abandoned the deal.
In addition to the shift in the investment program, Rosseti can reduce dividend payments until 2026, this measure can compensate up to 60 billion rubles. missing funds. According to the results of 2022, payments in the amount of about 23 billion rubles were provided, the board of directors of Rosseti will consider the issue of dividends on May 29.
In September 2022, the head of Rosseti Andrey Ryumin told Interfax that the issue of dividends for 2022 would be discussed after the merger of FGC and Rosseti, which took place in early 2023. Prior to joining FGC, Rosseti owned 80.13% in the main operator, now the main shareholder of the combined company is the Federal Property Management Agency, which owns 75% plus 1 share.
As for the increase in the FGC tariff, as follows from the materials of the commission, the next indexation, additional to the parameters of the socio-economic development forecast, by 2% will take place from July 1, 2025, by another 2% – from June 1, 2026. Together, the indexation of the tariff will make it possible to attract up to 100 billion rubles to finance the construction.
The materials of the commission say that the measures have already been supported by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. In the office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance and “Rosseti” “Kommersant” did not answer.
For the financial performance and debt load of Rosseti, the government’s decision is positive, says Matvey Taits from Sinara investment bank. But the refusal of dividends in the medium term, according to him, may be negative for quotes. The cost of ordinary shares of Rosseti as of May 26 was 0.11 rubles. apiece, the capitalization of the company is 231.6 billion rubles.
Dmitry Bulgakov from BCS Mir Investments believes that the refusal of Rosseti from dividends or their reduction may be negatively perceived by investors. Since Rosseti is a public joint stock company, ideally, investment projects should pay off, he recalls. “If such state projects do not have a payback, they could be implemented through 100% state structures so that minority shareholders do not suffer losses from infrastructure construction through the destruction of shareholder value,” the expert believes.
According to Kommersant’s sources in the market, such an approach in the long term will lead to greater unprofitability and the disappearance of the culture of investment and subsequent operational efficiency in Rosseti, distortions in consumer tariffs, outstripping growth in the cost of electricity. “In fact, the state’s unprofitable investment project will have to be financed by consumers / clients and shareholders of the grid complex,” he sums up.
RusHydro asks for money
According to Kommersant, RusHydro continues to seek the allocation of funds from the National Welfare Fund for the construction of two thermal power plants to supply electricity to the Eastern test site. Thus, the company wants to cover up to 40% of the cost of expanding Partizanskaya GRES, that is, 30.5 billion rubles, with the funds of the National Welfare Fund. out of 76.2 billion rubles. The company asks to co-finance the construction of the second stage of the Neryungrinskaya GRES from the funds of the National Welfare Fund also by 40%, that is, to allocate 38.5 billion rubles. out of 96.3 billion rubles. This follows from the materials of the commission on the development of the railway infrastructure of Siberia and the Far East. The company’s earlier requests for NWF funds were rejected.
The NWF funds are repayable, but they are cheaper than loans on market terms. RusHydro wants to get them at 2% for 20 years, according to the materials. The effect of raising funds for Partizanskaya GRES should be a reduction in interest payments by 24.8 billion rubles, a reduction in the payback period of the project from eleven to eight years. The reduction in interest payments for the second stage of the Neryungrinskaya GRES will amount to 29.3 billion rubles, the project will pay off in five years instead of seven.
RusHydro confirmed to Kommersant that a few months ago they applied through the Ministry of Energy for obtaining a loan from the National Welfare Fund to finance priority investment projects in the Far Eastern Federal District (Eastern Polygon). “We have not received a decision yet. Receiving funds from the National Welfare Fund at a rate lower than the bank loan rate will reduce the cost of borrowing for us,” the company said. The amount of funds requested was not commented on there.
RusHydro’s proposals are being worked out at the Ministry of Finance (they did not respond to Kommersant’s request), the coordinated position of the relevant departments should be sent to the Russian government before June 2.
In addition to the projects of Partizanskaya and Neryungrinskaya GRES, in order to expand the Eastern test site, RusHydro must also build Khabarovsk CHPP-4, Artemovskaya CHPP-2, the second stage of Yakutskaya GRES-2, and reconstruct Vladivostok CHPP-2. The last four projects will be built according to the mechanism of capacity supply contracts, which guarantees the return of funds from the energy market.
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