Federation Council Commission on Natural Monopolies approves “Tunnel law”

23.01.2007 // Press service of Rosenergoatom

The Commission on Natural Monopolies of the Federation Council has recommended approving the “tunnel law”

On Jan 23 the Commission on Natural Monopolies held its first meeting in 2007. The Commission considered the federal law «On the Peculiarities of the Management of the Property and Shares of Organizations Using Nuclear Energy and On Relevant Changes to Some Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation.»

As a result, the Commission recommended the Federal Council to approve the law — unofficially called «tunnel law». Besides, the Commission decided to set up a sub-committee on the legislative regulation of the nuclear power sector.

Chairman of the Commission Nikolay Ryzhkov said: «The nuclear power industry should move forward. This law will help us to put the industry into order. Unless we do something now, by 2015 the share of nuclear power engineering in the total electricity production will drop from present 15% to 2%.»

In his report Deputy Director of Rosatom Andrey Malyshev said that the «tunnel law» will pave the way for Russian energy companies into the world market. He said that, in order to successfully develop the sector, it is necessary to eliminate legislative non-conformities between the legal, organizational and administrative structures.

To remind, on Jan 19 2007 the State Duma approved the third reading of the bill «On the Peculiarities of the Management of the Property and Shares of Organizations Using Nuclear Energy and On Relevant Changes to Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation.»

The «tunnel law» suggests reforming the nuclear power sector and regulates the process of management of the property and shares of nuclear organizations. The reforms provide for the restructuring of federal state unitary enterprises to be specified by the President into JSCs. However, nuclear units and fissile materials will remain under 100% state control.