ST. PETERSBURG, September 7 (RIA Novosti) - Energy consumption in Russia increased 4.6%, year-on-year, in the first seven months of 2006, a top energy executive said Thursday.
Vyacheslav Sinyugin, the board chairman of HydroOGK, which holds stakes in 15 Russian hydroelectric power plants, or half of the country's hydroelectric resources, said energy consumption growth in some regions exceeded 9% in the reporting period.
"We are witnessing a considerable growth in energy consumption this year due to stable economic growth in Russia," Sinyugin told a roundtable on energy at the first Russian-Japanese investment forum in St. Petersburg.
At the same time, Anatoly Chubais, the chief executive officer of Russia's electricity monopoly Unified Energy System (UES), said Friday some regions in the country could face a shortage of electricity soon.
"The country is entering an extremely difficult and dramatic period of electric power shortage in some regions," Chubais said. "I hope the energy shortages will not lead to large-scale accidents in the country."
Chubais said the electric power reform proceeded slower than expected.
"We have proceeded slower than expected with the reform and have lost two years," Chubais said.
Chubais also said the electric power sector had to limit electric power supply in some regions in the summer of 2006 because its equipment was operating at maximum capacity.
