Stock of electricity networks - before new payments to businesses.
Carrying out an inventory of the electricity grid infrastructure, creating conditions for full-scale load management and changing the rules for electricity redistribution - before introducing new payments to businesses in the form of take or pay.
According to the Ministry of Energy's working group for 2021, after 2011, the increase in transformer capacity based on technological connection operations amounted to 166,850 MVA and the actual installed capacity was 30,435 MVA. This difference should be checked to understand what capacity is available and where investments are needed.
Until we compare the recorded data with the actual state of the infrastructure, it is impossible to determine exactly how much free capacity is actually available, where the constraints exist and what investments are required. The inventory should be the starting point for further decisions.
The efficiency of power grids can be improved by rebuilding unused substations and installing reactive power compensation devices.
It is necessary to introduce a more flexible redistribution of the free power between consumers, a "reverse tariff" mechanism, compensation to the first applicant as well as tariff decisions that take into account the actual costs of maintaining the capacities used by consumers.
Improving the efficiency of the networks should not lead to increased rates and new payments for existing consumers.
The point is not to attract investment resources from consumers through unreasonable payments, but to make investments in electricity networks economically profitable for them.
Vice President of the Small Energy Association Valery Zhikarev in an author's column especially for "Sovereign Economy".