OREANDA-NEWS. The Board of Directors considered the development of procurement system based on large-scale use of e-commerce. It noted the effectiveness of the e-procurement system, B2B-energo, which, in its view, is a powerful instrument for creating and servicing the market for supplies to RAO UES energy companies.

The Board of Directors instructed the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" to ensure that, beginning in 2007, RAO UES subsidiaries procure at least 60 percent of their products and services electronically.

Today, energy companies procure RUB300 billion worth of goods and services annually, which makes about 50 percent of the companies' total expenses. RAO "UES of Russia" has relationships with 8,500 suppliers offering a range of products consisting of over 50,000 items.

The share of goods and services procured on a competitive basis increases year-by-year. For instance, in 2005, they accounted for 57 percent of the total amount procured compared to 46 percent in 2004.