MOSCOW, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Moscow is intent on privatizing the rest of its electric generation infrastructure and will spend billions boosting electric capacity.
Sunday Business in London reports state-owned utility United Energy Systems, which owns Russia's power plants, will soon be on the auction block.
UES Chief Executive Anatoly Chubais is to lure investors during an upcoming trip to New York, Stockholm, Sweden, and London as part of Russia's attempt at funding for the $80 billion it plans to invest into capacity infrastructure.
Already Enel, the Italian utilities company, has pledged between $2.5 billion and $5 billion. Enel Chief Executive Fulvio Conti said: "In terms of big plays, Russia is the final frontier."
Moscow says complete liberalization of the sector will take up to 15 years although Chubais has issued a 2009 deadline.
The move is backed by urgency as strong economic growth in Russia, spurred by high oil prices, has increased demand for electricity in an overworked grid.
Sunday Business reports the move could go two ways: international investors could jump in with huge checks, pouring money into the hurting infrastructure. Or, the power generation will overload the grid, blackouts and shortages will become frequent -- frightening in the winter months -- and economic growth will be stunted.
Chubais has stepped forward for bold Russian moves before. He was the brainchild of former President Boris Yeltsin's voucher privatization program in the early 1990s, where few became extremely rich and most saw little benefit.
