The Russian joint stock power and electrification company RAO UES of
Russia was established by Russian Federation Presidential Decree No. 923 of 15 August 1992
as a sector-wide holding company with extensive functions in ensuring a reliable supply of
electricity and heat energy to the various sectors of the economy and the general public,
the centralised management of operational regimes on the wholesale market, the
implementation of investment programmes in the power generation sector and a number of
other areas.
RAO UES of Russia is the most important component of Russia’s power generation
industry and operates in structural terms as a Company, a Holding Company and a Group:
- the Company is the parent company RAO UES of Russia, including affilates and representative offices;
- the Holding Company is the Company, its subsidiaries, dependent AO energos and AO Power Stations, and the Central Dispatch Department of RAO UES of Russia, which are primarily concerned with the process of producing, transmitting and distributing power and also the provision of services in organising the functioning and development of RAO UES of Russia;
- the Group — the Holding Company and all other subsidiaries and dependent companies, including those involved in research and development, project development and design, construction and technical servicing, and non-specialised organisations.
Main areas of Holding Company activity 
- producing, transmitting and distributing electricity and heat energy;
- maintaining electricity generating stations, electric power grids and heat energy networks in a reliable condition;
- operations and dispatch management in the process of producing and delivering electricity, organising the parallel operation of the production systems in the Unified Energy Network of Russia;
- technical supervision of the condition of electricity generating stations and grid facilities in the Unified Energy System of Russia;
- organising the work of FOREM, the Federal Wholesale Electricity Market, in the co-ordination of the activities of all entities operating on that market;
- organising the work to ensure the balanced development of the Unified Energy Network of Russia (including forecasting the demand for electricity, designing, investing and constructing power engineering facilities).
Installed capacity As of 01.01.2000
the installed capacity of the Holding Company amounted to 156,200 MW or 72.7 per cent of
the installed capacity of all of Russia’s power stations. The Holding Company’s fossil
fuel power stations make up 78.4 per cent of national installed capacity (122,400 MW) and
its hydro power stations account for 21.6 per cent (33,800 MW). As of 01.01.2000 the
installed capacity of federal-level electricity generating stations, which form part of
the Holding Company, was 44,700 MW, made up of 27,800 MW of fossil fuel power stations
capacity and 16,900 MW of hydro power station capacity. In 1999 the installed capacity of
the holding company’s electricity generating stations increased by 600 MW or one per
cent, with fossil fuel power station capacity up by 400 MW and federal-level hydro power
station capacity up by 200 MW.
In 1999 electricity
produced by the companies in the holding structure amounted to 602.2 billion kWh
or 71.2% of the entire output of Russia. The Holding Company’s fossil fuel power
stations produced 94.6 per cent of the national figure, while its hydro power stations
produced 70.2 per cent.