Many companies had to shut down for days when Arctic temperatures hit European Russia in the winter of 2005-06 and electricity supplies were restricted. Reserve storages were put into use.
"The country is coming into a difficult and dramatic period of electricity shortages in dozens of regions," said Anatoly Chubais, chief executive of Unified Energy System. "I hope it will not lead to serious accidents, but it is most likely to entail electricity supply restrictions."
Russia's state meteorological service has promised first subzero temperatures as early as late September.
"Electricity supplies may well be substantially reduced, and I think even newly built enterprises may inevitably be denied access to electricity supplies," Chubais said.
He said reform in the sector had been delayed for too long. "We have lost two years," Chubais said, warning that the available equipment was working at the limit of its capacity.
In late April, Chubais said the reform of UES would be completed in 2008.
"We propose holding two reorganizations of Russia's UES: one in late 2006, and another in 2008," he told investors.
In December 2005, Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said one of the key objectives for 2006 was to form three to five generating companies from the UES structure.
Chubais said the second reorganization in 2008 would be held "through UES division, which means in essence the termination of UES activity and the transfer of its functions to the state and infrastructure organizations in the energy sphere."
In late June, the UES CEO said the electricity sector reform was at the concluding phase.
"We have entered the concluding stage of the UES reform, which we call the investment phase," Chubais said.
