2019-2020 events

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On June 10, 2020, L.V. Shenets, Director of Energy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission, and the employees of Energy Department's Section of Development of Trade in Energy Resources took part in the online conference "Energy from Municipal Waste" (hereinafter, the Conference) organized by ExpoForum International and the Association "EnergoInnovation".

Representatives of the Russian Green Building Council, Greenpeace, St. Petersburg Association of Recycling, Interregional Partnership "Sustainable Development of the Russian Arctic", Caterpillar Eurasia, etc. participated in the Conference and delivered their reports.

Unique international practices for the implementation of RES projects on municipal waste disposal were presented during the Conference. Speakers demonstrated how properly launched "green energy" projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions exponentially and promptly solve issues related to electric power supplies.

The next event on this theme will take place as part of RIEF 2020 and St. Petersburg International Gas Forum 2020, where it is planned to hold the discussions "Energy from Landfill Gas" and "Gas Compression in the Russian Federation: Challenges and Prospects." 

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On May 29, 2020, the 50th meeting of the Subcommittee on Forming the EAEU Common Electric Power Market of the Advisory Committee on Electric Power took place under the chairmanship of Leonid Shenets, Director of Energy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).

The event organized via videoconferencing was attended by representatives of all Eurasian five States.

The Parties' experts discussed the procedure for admission of the participants of the EAEU common electric power market (CEPM) to trade in electric power, the conclusion of purchase and sale agreements in case of centralized trade, grounds for refusing to conclude the agreement on the accession of any participant to the EAEU CEPM, as well as a number of other issues that require decision-making to finalize draft rules of mutual trade in electric power in the EAEU CEPM.

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The EEC Advisory Committee on Electric Power detailed the "road map" for the establishment of the EAEU common electric power market

The road map of measures for the establishment of the common electric power market (CEPM) in the Eurasian Economic Union's five countries was approved at the 13th meeting of the Advisory Committee on Electric Power. It clarifies and details interim stages of creating a common market. The minutes of the event held in absentia due to measures to prevent spreading the coronavirus infection was signed by Emil Kaikiev, Member of the Board - EEC Minister in charge of Energy and Infrastructure. Therefore, there is an ongoing work on the establishment of the EAEU CEPM which should start functioning not later than January 1, 2025.

"A full-fledged launch of the CEPM of the Union can lead to an increase in mutual trade in electric power and lay the groundwork for strengthening the EAEU countries' economies," Emil Kaikiev noted.

The road map’s upper-level architecture was developed and approved earlier. On December 20, 2019, the heads of the EAEU Member States approved the Action Plan aimed at the establishment of the common electric power market. The document sets time limits for adopting acts (rules, regulations) governing the EAEU CEPM functioning. Time limits for a number of organizational measures, such as choosing trading platforms and testing the market’s technique, are fixed as well.

Moreover, in order to maximally optimize the sequence of processes for creating the EAEU CEPM, the countries' experts deemed it necessary to determine the interim stages of developing and agreeing upon draft documents. For this purpose, a draft road map was prepared jointly with the EEC with specification of time limits for approval by the Advisory Committee, regulatory impact assessment and alternate discussion by the Union’s governing bodies for each document. All the parties supported the approval of this road map. Along with that, the members of the Subcommittee on Forming the EAEU CEPM of the Advisory Committee on Electric Power should be guided by interim time limits approved in the document for work on acts.

In addition, it was unanimously approved to conduct in 2020-2021 research activities on finalizing draft rules of the EAEU CEPM functioning, which would also assist in the timely and high-quality development of market regulating documents.

The parties' stances on the third agenda item related to approaches to determining and distributing capacities of interstate cross-sections (interstate power transmission lines) were brought together. There was visible progress that would allow making some headway at an expert level in the development of draft rules of capacity determination and distribution. 

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On May 22, 2020, a consultation with Russian experts took place in Moscow under the chairmanship of Leonid Shenets, Director of Energy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).

For the purpose of preparing for the 50th meeting of the Subcommittee on Forming the EAEU Common Electric Power Market (CEPM) of the Advisory Committee on Electric Power scheduled for May 29, 2020, the consultation considered materials prepared by the EEC Energy Department for the above meeting of the Subcommittee, including issues related to the procedure for admission of the EAEU CEPM participants to trade in electric power in the EAEU CEPM.

Moreover, the event served as the platform for discussing the proposals of the Russian side to amend draft requirements for technical characteristics of research activities on the topic: "Finalizing Draft Rules of the Functioning of the Common Electric Power Market of the Eurasian Economic Union and Developing Proposals To Assist in Implementing Other Measures Aimed at Its Establishment", as well as for elaborating compromise decisions recommended by the parties for implementation in 2020-2021.

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Energy Department's management participated in the work of the International Economic Forum of the CIS Member States held in the Congress Center of the World Trade Center Moscow on March 13, 2020. In the first half of the day, L.V. Shenets, Director of Energy  Department, delivered the presentation "Creation of Common Markets of Energy Resources as the Main Factor in Increasing the Energy Security of the Eurasian Economic Union Member States" at the session Modern Development Trends of the FEC in Global Economy.

L.V.  Shenets informed the session participants on work being carried out as part of establishing the common energy markets of the Union, time limits for adopting the main documents establishing these markets, electric power, oil, and gas production indicators in the Member States, possible threats to the energy security of the Member States, as well as measures necessary to minimize them. The speech of the Commission's representative was met with interest by the session participants.

In the second half of the day, Energy Department's management participated in the Plenary Session of the International Economic Forum of the CIS Member States.

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On February 20-21, 2020, the consultation of the members of the Subcommittee on Forming the Common Electric Power Market of the Eurasian Economic Union of the Advisory Committee on Electric Power under the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission took place in Moscow under the chairmanship of Leonid Shenets, Director of Energy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

During the meeting, the experts of the EAEU Member States and the Eurasian Economic Commission considered agenda items related to developing draft rules of access to the services of interstate transmission of electricity (capacity) (IST) and of mutual trade in electric power within the EAEU common electric power market.

For the purpose of finalizing draft rules of access, the consultation participants discussed issues related to the inclusion of obligations in regard to non-trade IST in the agreement on accession to the EAEU common electric power market, schemes for formalizing IST in case of trade in the common electric power market of the Union, the need to determine in access rules the grounds for refusing to conclude the agreement on non-trade IST, etc.

In regard to draft rules of mutual trade in electric power, representatives of the Member States considered a step-by-step scheme for establishing the planned values of net electric power flow and the procedure for calculation of values and regulation of the hourly deviations of net electric power flow.

Along with that, at the event, the experts of five Eurasian countries and the EEC discussed draft requirements for technical characteristics of research activities aimed at finalizing draft rules of the functioning of the EAEU common electric power market.

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Representatives of the EEC Energy Department participated in the discussions of National Currencies of the EAEU Countries: Practical Experience International Forum

On February 7, National Currencies of the EAEU Countries: Practical Experience International Forum organized by the Interstate Bank took place in Yerevan.

It was attended by representatives from the central (national) banks of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, the Eurasian Economic Commission, commercial banks and investment companies, large industry and trading companies, executives of the unions of industrialists and entrepreneurs and the currency and stock exchanges of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation, as well as leading research workers of the two countries.

The forum's topic is highly relevant in the context of deepening integration processes, as well as increased trade turnover and trade between the EAEU countries.

The forum's speakers discussed factors contributing to the expanded use of national currencies in trade and economic relations within the EAEU, e.g. the use of Armenian drams and Russian rubles instead of dollars in settlements between Armenian and Russian organizations. In addition, they discussed needs of businesses and means and ways of overcoming the existing obstacles, as well as evaluated the mechanism for payments in national currencies that functions in the Interstate Bank. Proposals were discussed to create a fund for financing mutual trade in national currencies.

Along with that, on the sidelines of the forum, Energy Department's employees informed representatives of the EAEU Member States, including the national banks of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Interstate Bank, about the fundamentals of the functioning of the EAEU common electric power market, the development of rules of its operation, and the identified problems related to organizing settlements for electric power in national currencies in case of centralized trade in electric power in the EAEU common electric power market.

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On February 14, 2020, a consultation with the experts of the Russian side on individual issues related to developing the rules of the functioning of the EAEU common electric power market (CEPM) took place in Moscow under the chairmanship of the EEC Energy Department's management.

The event served as the platform for discussing issues related to the possibility of using electronic digital signatures, the contractual arrangement of interstate transmission, and the establishment of the planned values of net electric power flow within the EAEU CEPM.

Following the consultation, its participants agreed to finalize materials on the above issues and submit them for the consideration of the members of the Subcommittee on Forming the EAEU CEPM of the Advisory Committee on Electric Power at the meeting scheduled for February 20-21, 2020.

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On February 5, 2020, the fifth meeting of the Working Group on Energy of the Russian-Dutch Mixed Commission on Economic Cooperation took place in Moscow. 

The representatives of Energy Department's Section of Oil and Gas Policy took part in the fifth meeting of the Working Group on Energy of the Russian-Dutch Mixed Commission on Economic Cooperation held on February 5, 2020, on the venue of JSC SPIMEX with the participation of the heads of authorities of the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as well as business community representatives from the two countries. The delegation of the Russian side was headed by A.B. Bondarenko, State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation; the delegation of the Dutch side was headed by Mr Potman, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The key topics of the bilateral agenda included issues related to cooperation in the gas sector, renewable energy sources, and the implementation of liquefied natural gas projects and projects on gas transportation from Russia. In addition, the meeting discussed issues related to climate change and greenhouse gas emission reduction, the digital transformation of the FEC, as well as possibilities to exchange experience in energy stock trading. The parties noted the existing close Russian-Dutch cooperation on current joint projects
in the field of energy and emphasized significant potential for the further development of such cooperation.

Special attention at the event was paid to the stock trading of natural gas. The session Exchange of Experience Between Energy Exchanges discussed the main approaches to gas transportation management systems and transport tariff calculation that served as the basis for the successful implementation of the program for liberalizing the natural gas market of the Netherlands. The session participants discussed possibilities to use these mechanisms across Russia and the EAEU.

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On January 30, 2020, the 9th International Eurasian Conference Aviation Fuel 2020 took place in Moscow.

On January 30, 2020, M.L. Pleshkin, Deputy Director of Energy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission, participated in the work of the 9th International Eurasian Conference Aviation Fuel 2020. As part of the plenary session, participants discussed the relevant matters related to regulation of aviation fuel supply in the Russian Federation, the main development directions in this field, and proposals for making amendments to legislation governing aviation fuel quality control, as well as other matters.

In his speech, M.L.  Pleshkin noted that issues related to the quality of petroleum products (including aviation fuel) fell within the jurisdiction of the Eurasian Economic Commission and were governed by Technical Regulation No. 013/2011 of the Customs Union (CU) 'On Requirements for Motor and Aviation Gasoline, Diesel and Marine Fuel, Jet Fuel and Heating Oil' effective from 2011. Moreover, he noted that a number of issues concerning the operating performance of aviation fuel had recently arisen in connection with developing oil production and processing technologies. The above technological changes called for the improvement in the effective regulatory framework for the purpose of quality control improvement in refining complexes and fuel filling stations. This work was being performed with the involvement of the interested state authorities and companies.

M.L. Pleshkin wound up  his speech by informing about the Union Member States' work on implementing the coordinated (agreed) transport policy aimed at the coherent formation of a common transport space based on the principles of competition, transparency, security, reliability, availability and sustainability and wished productive work to the conference participants.

The speech of the Commission's representative was met with interest by the conference participants.

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On January 23-24, 2020, the 49th meeting of the Subcommittee on Forming the Common Electric Power Market of the Eurasian Economic Union of the Advisory Committee on Electric Power took place in Moscow under the chairmanship of Leonid Shenets, Director of Energy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

At the meeting, the Subcommittee members finalized and approved the draft Road Map for the Implementation of Actions Provided for by Decision No. 31 of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council 'On the Action Plan Aimed at the Establishment of the Common Electric Power Market of the Eurasian Economic Union' dated December 20, 2019. The document was planned to be submitted for the approval of the Advisory Committee on Electric Power this March. The road map "staked out" reference points for the coordination and consideration by the Union's governing bodies of acts necessary for the functioning of the EAEU common electric power market (CEPM) and was aimed at its timely launch.

Along with that, during the event, the experts of the EAEU Member States and the EEC considered agenda items related to the coordination of the approach to determining and distributing capacities of interstate cross-sections in the common electric power market of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as to the proposal of the Kyrgyz Republic on creating an authority for regulating the EAEU CEPM.

Based on the meeting results, instructions were given to the EEC Energy Department and the parties' experts. Issues related to the establishment of the EAEU CEPM were planned to be further discussed at the following meetings of the Subcommittee.

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On January 15-16, 2020, consultations with the representatives of JSB "ROSSIYA" (JSC), the Eurasian Development Bank, and the EEC Financial Policy Department took place in Moscow under the chairmanship of Leonid Shenets, Director of the EEC Energy Department.

The activities were organized for the purpose of implementing the Action Plan Aimed at the Establishment of the EAEU Common Electric Power Market (CEPM) approved by Decision No. 31 of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council dated December 20, 2019.

The above plan provided for the adoption of documents necessary for the EAEU CEPM functioning. Their preparation involved agreeing upon provisions related to the electric power industry in particular and to other areas of the EEC's activities in general. For example, it was planned to provide for settlements in national currencies to organize centralized (electronic) trade in electric power.

Events served as the platform for discussing individual issues aimed at preparing draft rules of mutual trade in electric power in the EAEU CEPM, including:

– currency (currencies) to be used for centralized trade in electric power in the CEPM of the Union;

– settlements in case of centralized trade in electric power in the CEPM of the Union (clearing);

– financial guarantees in case of centralized trade in electric power in the CEPM of the Union.