Moscow, 17 February 2004. The Meeting was attended by heads of some energy companies and subdivisions of RAO "UES of Russia", representatives from the Ministry of Energy of Russia, the Federal Energy Commission (FEC), NP "Administrator of Trading System" (NP "ATS"), OAO "FGC of UES of Russia", OAO "SO-CDA of UES of Russia", "Rosenergoatom", and Gosenergonadzor (State Energy Control and Conservation Department).

The participants noted, among other things, that the systemic approach and the efforts by the entities of RAO UES Holding to ensure reliable operation of energy equipment made it possible to reduce the overall number of process upsets in 2003 by 5% compared to 2002. Such reduction was achieved in all sectors of generation and transmission of heat and electricity. For instance, the number of process upsets at the thermal power plants was reduced by 14.2%, at the hydroelectric plants by 26.8%, at the trunk grids by 0.5%, at the 35-500 kV transmission lines by 7%, at the 6-20 kV transmission lines by 8%, and at the heating networks by 47/5%.

The Council considered the draft plan of measures to increase the reliability of operation of the UES of Russia and the technical standards of energy production in 2004 and decided to approve it at the next meeting of the Council scheduled for March this year.

The Council also approved the action plan to adjust the process control systems of the Center IES and the North-West IES to comply with the modern standards taking into account the UCTE* recommendations, which will make it possible to prepare the technological basis and move closer to synchronizing the UES of Russia and UCTE.

The Council was established pursuant to the order of the Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" "On measures to increase the system security of the UES of Russia in the course of energy industry reform" released in October 2003.

The Council is a permanent coordination and advisory body established by RAO "UES of Russia" and agreed upon with the Ministry of Energy of Russia, Rosenergoatom, and NP "ATS". Its mission is to coordinate activities in the electricity sector aimed at working out a strategy for the re-equipment and modernization of energy facilities, strengthening and developing the UES of Russia and the technological infrastructure needed for the management of the UES and the wholesale electricity market, and organizing and launching a market for additional system-related services.

* UCTE - The "Union for the Co-ordination of Electricity Transmission" (UCTE) is the association of trans-mission system operators in continental Europe. UCTE members are the companies responsible for synchronous frequency system interconnection in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the FYROM, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The system operator of Denmark is UCTE associated member.