Russia, Germany set to establish energy efficiency agency

BERLIN, February 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and Germany plan to establish a joint agency on energy efficiency and power saving by April, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said in Berlin on Wednesday.

"We have settled the date - the company should be established no later than April," the minister said.

The agency, comprising energy companies and banking structures, will be registered as a non-commercial partnership, he said.

Shmatko has arrived in Berlin to participate in an international conference devoted to the issue.

In June 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the adoption of measures to reduce the Russian economy's energy intensity by 40% from the 2007 level by 2020. Energy intensity represents the ratio of energy consumption to the Gross Domestic Product.

According to the energy ministry's estimates, Russian energy intensity is 4-4.5 higher than the European average.