RAO UES
| Company type | Public (OAO) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electric power |
| Founded | August 15, 1992 |
| Defunct | July 1, 2008 |
| Fate | Merged into UES FGC (Federal Grid Company) |
| Headquarters | Moscow , Russia |
Key people | Anatoly Chubais (final chief executive) |
| Products | Electricity generation and transmission |
| Owner | Russian Federation (majority shareholder) |
OAO RAO UES (also known as OAO Unified Energy System of Russia or ) was a leading electric power holding company operating within Russia. It managed roughly 70% of the country's installed electrical capacity, controlled 96% of the high-voltage transmission network, and oversaw more than 70% of its power lines. RAO UES additionally supplied electricity exports to Scandinavia and various CIS nations. The final chief executive was Anatoly Chubais.
History
The Unified Energy System of Russia was founded by Presidential Decree No. 932 on August 15, 1992, as a holding entity for electric energy assets. The majority of state-owned power resources—including thermal and hydroelectric plants, transmission infrastructure, and stakes in power generation, research, engineering, and construction firms—were consolidated under RAO UES, with the exception of nuclear energy facilities. The company held ownership of over 70% of energy enterprises and controlled more than 40% of power plants deemed federally significant. It also managed the transmission system operator Federal Grid Company (RAO FGC), which currently functions as the successor operator of Russia’s extensive transmission network, along with the Centralized Dispatching Administration (OAO SO-CDA). Anatoly Dyakov served as the initial president and chairman of the board.
On May 30, 1997, shareholders eliminated the presidential position and appointed Boris Brevnov as chairman of the board; Brevnov was closely linked to First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov. Subsequently, on January 27, 1998, director's council leader Dyakov ousted Brevnov, who then removed Dyakov in response. Eventually, Anatoly Chubais, former chief of the Russian presidential administration, assumed the chairmanship of the board, while Alexander Voloshin, head of the presidential administration, became chairman of the director's council on June 25, 1999.
During the mid-2000s, RAO UES encountered several challenges in meeting electricity demand caused by extended underinvestment. A significant example was the 2005 Moscow power blackouts.
Reorganization
The restructuring process for RAO UES commenced in 2006 and reached its initial phase completion on September 3, 2007, marked by the spin-off of subsidiary generating firms WGC-5 and TGC-5. By July 1, 2008, all remaining subsidiaries were also separated.
This transformation signified a substantial privatization effort within Russia's power sector, aiming to attract investments totaling approximately US$79 billion. The outcome was the emergence of six wholesale generation companies (WGC), fourteen territorial generation companies (TGC), along with RusHydro, FGC UES (Federal Grid Company), SO-CDA (System Operator), IDC Holding, RAO ES of the East, and Inter RAO UES, each functioning independently.
Following this process, RAO UES ceased to exist as it merged into UES FGC, the Federal Grid Company.
The Russian Federation directly or indirectly possessed over half of RAO UES shares, with minority investors holding the remainder. Its shares were actively traded on both the MICEX and RTS stock exchanges.