Will the energy sector be allowed to import?
Localisation of production of equipment for the energy sector was one of the strategic decisions aimed at developing the domestic industry. However, plants that received massive orders from energy companies, for objective reasons, do not have time to fulfil orders within the established deadlines, which negatively affects the pace of implementation of new projects and modernization of existing ones. As Realnoe Vremya learned, this issue was raised at a meeting of the delegation of the Republic of Tatarstan with Minister Sergey Tsivilev. Read about whether Tatarstan energy workers managed to secure federal support in our report.
Tatarstan energy landing party in Moscow
The delegation of Tatarstan met with the Minister of Energy of Russia Sergey Tsivilev as part of the international forum Russian Energy Week. The meeting was attended by Rais Rustam Minnikhanov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Tatarstan Oleg Korobchenko and heads of the largest energy companies of the republic — TGK-16, Grid Company and Tatenergo.
It was previously reported that the meeting discussed the development of the energy system of Tatarstan and the implementation of investment projects. General Director of TGK-16 Eduard Galeyev told a journalist of Realnoe Vremya what exactly was meant by this capacious phrase:
“Now a major reconstruction is underway in the entire energy system of the country. In connection with this, the plants that fulfil our orders are heavily overloaded, there is a delay in the delivery of equipment. And in fact, now we can incur losses due to the fact that the equipment arrives late. We raised this issue at a meeting with the Minister of Energy,” the interlocutor noted.
A double-edged sword
The emphasis on localisation of energy equipment in Russia was made with the launch of the Long-Term Modernisation Programmes. This is a large-scale initiative aimed at updating and modernizing the country's energy infrastructure. The programme involves purchasing equipment exclusively from Russian manufacturers, which contributes to the development of the industrial sector, the creation of new jobs and strengthening the economic potential of the state. But in recent years, the country's energy sector has faced a serious challenge that directly affects the stability of power grids and the development of infrastructure. The emphasis on localisation of equipment production has led to unexpected consequences: factories cannot cope with the growing demand, and delays in equipment deliveries are becoming commonplace.
“We have delays in fulfilling some orders for more than a year. This has a significant impact on our repair programs,” says Eduard Galeyev.
Such a situation, given the high growth in energy consumption, can lead to serious consequences.
“This is not only our issue, it is an all-Russian one, and many energy companies support us in this. At the meeting, the Minister also supported us in the fact that power engineers should not bear damages and losses due to delays in the delivery of equipment by our counterparties.”
The solution is import from friendly countries
On the one hand, the way out of the situation is obvious — it is necessary to reduce the volume of localisation. In this regard, generators are asking for permission to purchase some equipment or blanks in friendly countries, primarily in Iran, India and China, which have the ability to supply them.
“Naturally, enterprises that produce power equipment are against this. They would like to simply postpone the deadlines to a later date so as not to lose revenue. But, unfortunately, the state of the power industry is such that there is a sharp increase in consumption, we have already crossed the level of consumption of the Soviet Union,” says the interlocutor.
At the same time, Eduard Galeyev is confident that the issue will be resolved soon:
“The minister has appointed executors to work out these issues. This week we are planning a meeting with them in Moscow to discuss how this can be resolved. I think the issue will be resolved soon,” the interlocutor believes.