“Novgorodenergo” branch of IDGC of North-West made RAB transition

The fact of “Novgorodenergo” transition is the result of the long term negotiations with the Price and Tariff Policy Committee of the Novgorod region (PTPC) and the Administration of the Novgorod region. The basis for the tariff accounts is the two system documents - assessment of the RAB investment assets (initial cost is RUR 11,597.6 million;  depreciated cost – RUR 5,462.5 million) and the investment program of the branch (with the amount for 2010-2012 – RUR 2,706 million).
According to Valentin Chesnokov, Head of the Tariff Formation Department of IDGC of North-West, the preparation work was begun by the specialists of the company one year ago. At the end of December 2008 they ordered the preliminary assessment of the investment asset for carrying out of the initial accounts. “The acquired results were presented at the beginning of summer to PTPC and since that time the format of the communication with the regulator was switched to the stage of almost daily meetings when they discussed each detail”, he explained.
Firstly, according to V. Chesnokov, they had to take into account the new realities of crisis – the account of the assessment of the investment assets is based on the current and the perspective download of the electric grids. Issued in autumn “Government forecast of the social and economic development of Russia” and, correspondently, the forecast perspectives of the economy of the Novgorod region declined many planned projects for several years.
“The legislative rule, requiring to carry out the accounts of many parameters on the basis of the data of the government forecast of the social and economic development of Russia, reoriented the accounted period of RAB for Novgorod. It is 3 years, despite the readiness of the branch to the long term planning”, said Olga Makarova, Economy and Finances Deputy General Director of IDGC of North-West. Besides, according to her, the decrease of the accounting period played the positive role for the company.  The so called mechanism of the tariffs smoothing, methodologically determined, returns the smoothed amounts of the necessary gross receipt in two years which will help to early terminate the current credits planned during the first year.
In general, the accounting model of RAB making the basis for the approved tariffs of the Novgorod region meets all the interests of the company, they think in the financial directorate (taking into consideration the economic crisis).
The relation of iRAB to the balance cost of the fixed assets accounts for 1.6 which is less than the medium coefficients of RAB “pilots” in 2009 (2.1 by the data of UniCredit Markets & Investment Banking). They shall also note the limited influence of the basis of the “old” assets (iRAB) to RAB-regulation – only in the amount of the credit leveraging.  The created new assets (investment program) begins to influence RAB-regulation in comparison with the old assets to the next long term period.
The amount of the attracted means to the realization of the investment program of Novgorodenergo during three years will not increase RUR 500 million. The amount of the credit leveraging will account for 7-7.5% of the amount of the investment capital.
The return of the capital will account for RUR 1,870 billion for three years. The return in investment is RUR 1,635 million.
Taking into account the considerable problems in attraction of the credit resources, the state on behalf of the Federal Tariff Service of Russia left at the current level the norm of the return on investment for the interregional distribution grid companies: 6% - in 2010, 9% - in 2011, 12% - in 2012 for the old capital and 12% - for 2010-2012 period for the “new” capital.
“Despite the change of the basic conditions of RAB transition the new system of tariff regulation will give broader possibilities for the activity of the enterprise”, they think in IDGC of North-West. The direct consequence of the working tariff system is the growth of the investment capital base of “Novgorodenergo” branch (indirect sign of the electric grids modernization process) which by 2013 will account for RUR 7.1 billion (130% to the level of 2009).