DUSHANBE, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - The CIS Electric Energy Council will consider establishing in three stages a common electricity market at its 32nd session, opened in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, on Friday.

The heads of electricity agencies and national power companies from the group of 12 ex-Soviet republics will also consider arrangements for the winter of 2007-2008. Officials from Iran and Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic currently not a member of the Electric Energy Council, will participate as observers.

In the first stage of the common electricity market concept, power supplies along transnational power transmission lines, including through power systems in third countries, will be established.

In the second stage, CIS member countries are to develop national competitive power markets, liberalize power exports and imports, and coordinate closely national transmission system and commercial operators.

A common electricity market will be built during the third stage, with common rules for all players on the market to be formulated.

The CIS concept fixes no timeframes for establishing the common electricity market.

The CIS Electric Energy Council was set up in 1992. Anatoly Chubais, CEO of electricity monopoly Unified Energy System of Russia, has been the council's chairman since 2000.

After the session, Chubais will visit the construction site for the Sangtudinskaya hydro-power plant, 110 km south of Dushanbe, whose first unit should be commissioned on December 22, 2007.

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon is expected to receive Chubais later in the day to discuss the construction of the Rogunskaya hydro-power plant.