The distribution complex of the Siberian Federal District has entered a clinch with regional tariff commissions. According to Kommersant, citing a letter from Rosseti head Andrey Ryumin to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Rosseti Siberia risks completely ceasing funding for investment and repair programs this year.
The document records a critical imbalance. The company's accumulated loss exceeded 24 billion rubles, debt grew to 51.5 billion, and the debt/EBITDA ratio exceeded 6x. The reason is that regional authorities have for years not recognized part of the network's expenses as economically justified. The tariff failure has already resulted in 40 thousand unfulfilled contracts for preferential technological connection. The share of equipment that has exceeded its normative service life has reached 86%. The company's financial expenses last year amounted to 8.9 billion rubles, with a net profit of only 1.1 billion.
The Russian government has already reacted. Mishustin approved an order according to which the Ministry of Energy, FAS, Ministry of Finance, and regional authorities must submit draft solutions this year to improve the financial situation of Rosseti Siberia, including through tariff sources. Rosseti proposes a radical option – to unite the regions of the Siberian Federal District into a single tariff zone and transfer the authority to set tariffs to the federal level. HSE experts estimate an inevitable tariff increase of 10–15% above the forecast, calling it an unpleasant but necessary solution to avoid an avalanche-like decrease in reliability.