The largest energy-intensive enterprises, including "EVRAZ" and "Rusal," have sent a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin demanding a halt to the electric power industry reform. According to RBK, businesses are asking for a five-year moratorium on any changes that would lead to an increase in the final electricity price for factories.
Industrial companies assess the consequences of the Ministry of Energy initiatives as a threefold increase in electricity transmission fees. The draft law "On Promoting Infrastructure Development" includes transferring trunk grid consumers to contracts with distribution companies, the "take or pay" principle, and the construction of new power lines at the expense of surcharges on the wholesale price. The tariff for Unified National Electric Grid services already increased by 16% in 2026 after a jump of 11.5% a year earlier.
Rosseti describes business concerns as exaggerated and insists on the need to attract 40 trillion rubles by 2042 to build 88.5 GW of new generation capacity.
For metallurgy and chemicals, where electricity's share in production costs reaches 40%, the increase in the grid tariff directly hits export profitability. Under sanctions and expensive loans, the additional burden threatens the curtailment of investment programs.
While the Ministry of Energy is conducting conciliation procedures, factories are effectively demanding that the current rules of the game be fixed, fearing that the appetites of the grid complex will bury the already shrinking margins of basic industries.
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