A cold spell that hit Russia this past winter showed that many of the country's electric power plants did not have sufficient stocks of alternative fuels, like fuel oil and coal, and were too reliant on gas.
"UES has agreed with Gazprom that the share of natural gas in the fuel and energy balance must decrease," the Russian electricity monopolist said.
Natural gas accounted for 69.3% and coal for 27.3% in the balance in 2005, with the figures expected to be 65.6% and 31.1%, respectively, by 2010.
The company said overall gas consumption would increase with growing demand for electricity and the commissioning of new power plants in the regions.
UES said it had had to shift to a backup fuel - fuel oil - after Gazprom introduced a saving mode on gas supplies to pump up enough gas into underground storages to provide domestic supplies and exports throughout the coming winter, but that this was 150-200% more expensive for electricity generation.
