OREANDA-NEWS. August 13, 2012. The Antimonopoly Service has determined the conditions of competitive capacity outtakes in 2013, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

 “System Operator of the United Power System” OJSC published information and documentation, required for competitive capacity outtakes in 2013, on its official web-site. These materials included two Orders issued by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) that determined free power transfer zones without price caps and additional requirements for entities that have dominant market positions.

Under FAS Order “On Determining Free Power Transfer Zones where Competitive Capacity Outtakes in 2013 Take Place with Capacity Price Caps”, price caps are to be introduced in 18 out of 23 free power transfer zones. As a result, competitive capacity outtakes without price cap will only take place in “Siberia” “Urals”, “Centre”, “Volga” and “Vyatka” free power transfer zones.

Also the total number of free power transfer zones will be reduced from 27 to 23 in 2013 in comparison with 2012 due to several mergers of free power transfer zones (FPTZ) in the First Price Zone of wholesale market of electric power and capacity. For instance, “Kinderi” FPTZ is included in competitive capacity outtakes in 2013, “Sochi” FPTZ merged with “Gelendzhik” FPTZ, while “Vologda” FPTZ is included in the “Center” FPTZ.

In comparison with 2012, the share of traded capacity in free power transfer zones without price caps will increase from 49.5% to 58.3% with regard to the total capacity volumes traded within the price zone of the wholesale market; in the first price zone of the whole market the capacity share will be 51.5%, and in the second zone – 83.1%.

The second Order of the Antimonopoly Service published on the web-site of “System Operator of the United Power System” OJSC focuses on “Introduction of Additional Requirements to Price Bids Filed for Taking Part in Competitive Capacity outtakes in 2013 by Capacity Suppliers (Groups of Persons) that have Dominant Positions within the boundaries of the same free power transfer zone”.

“Today we have modernized such requirements to large suppliers in “Siberia” FPTZ. Now suppliers have an alternative when filing price bids for competitive capacity outtakes in 2013. They will be able to file a single price bid for the whole capacity volume, as earlier, or the volume of price bids must not exceed 10 %, the total volume of price and price-accepting bids in this FPTZ”, commented the Head of FAS Department for Control over Electric Power Industry, Vitaly Korolyov. He also pointed out that economic entities, which have dominant market positions, must follow a similar strategy that economic entities “Volga” and “Vyatka” FPNP.

“Ws analyzed economic concentration in “Siberia”, “Urals’, “Cenre”,”Volga” and “Vyatka” FPTZ. Further to the above orders, we forwarded the findings to the system administrator (group of persons), giving a list of wholesale market participants, that have dominant positions in these FPTZs”, added the Head of FAS Department.

Under the Rules for wholesale market of electric power and capacity, every year FAS analyses economic concentration in free power transfer zones, based on the findings in which the list of FPTZ is determined. In these zones competitive capacity outtakes takes place using capacity price caps.

To prevent abusing dominance on the market of wholesale electric power within the boundaries of one zone, FAS Russia annually set additional requirements for price bids filed to take part in competitive capacity outtake, supplied to take part in competitive capacity outtakes.