The Small Energy Association and Delovaya Rossiya are joining efforts to promote the distributed generation industry

On September 8, the next meeting of the subcommittee on small-scale generation of the energy committee of Delovaya Rossiya was held in Moscow. The discussion was moderated by the chairman of the subcommittee, member of the General Council of Delovaya Rossiya, president of the Association of Small-Scale Energy Maxim Zagornov. The participants of the meeting discussed key problems of energy supply to small and medium-sized businesses, voiced specific solutions for increasing the energy efficiency of enterprises and presented the subcommittee's work plan for the next six months.

As Maxim Zagornov emphasized in his welcoming speech, the relevance of the work of the subcommittee on small-scale generation is due to the worsening situation with the availability, quality and reliability of energy supply to businesses. In 2025, the growth of electricity tariffs for businesses in Russia amounted to 12-17%, the terms and cost of technical connection increased, and a number of regions were recognized as energy-deficient. All this forces businesses to independently seek solutions to the problem using a real tool - small-scale distributed generation.

"It is small-scale energy facilities that allow us to quickly increase capacity, develop production, reduce production costs and thereby increase the competitiveness of Russian enterprises. All this is reflected in specific figures: in the last five years alone, the small-scale energy market in the country has doubled, and the volumes of in-house generation make up about 20% of the total generation volume in Russia," noted Maxim Zagornov.

The expert recalled that the Delovaya Rossiya small-scale generation subcommittee was created in 2020 as a response to the crisis in the Russian economy. The main task of the subcommittee was to develop specific solutions to reduce energy costs for businesses. Over the past 5 years, many significant initiatives have been implemented. However, now it is time to step up the work of the subcommittee.

Vice President of the Small Energy Association Valery Zhikharev presented an overview of the current situation with energy supply to businesses. Among the key problems, the expert named a decrease in the quality and reliability of centralized energy supply, the loss of the scale effect of the Unified Energy System (electricity tariffs for industry are growing at a rate higher than inflation), the inaccessibility of energy infrastructure (in 2024, the fee for technological connection increased by 2-4 times), as well as regulatory initiatives that worsen the conditions for doing business.

At the same time, the small-scale generation subcommittee of Delovaya Rossiya together with the Small-Scale Energy Association are conducting a systemic dialogue with government bodies to defend the interests of business and the distributed energy industry. A number of initiatives were supported by the Government of the Russian Federation, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak, Rostekhnadzor of the Russian Federation, etc. One of the latest regulatory achievements: proposals from Delovaya Rossiya and the Small-Scale Energy Association were taken into account when considering the “take or pay” mechanism.

"Following the review by the working group in the energy sector (the "regulatory guillotine"), 12 members of the working group spoke about the impossibility of approving the project taking into account the comments of experts and the business community. The working group supported the proposals of Delovaya Rossiya and the Small Energy Association about the inexpediency of switching to payment for electricity transmission services based on maximum capacity and the need to solve the problem of the efficiency of using electric grid capacity in other ways," shared Valery Zhikharev.

During the meeting, member of the subcommittee on small generation, co-chairman of the Khabarovsk branch of "Business Russia" Andrey Pochelintsev proposed to direct the subcommittee's efforts to solving the issues of shortage of generating capacity in the Far East by building distributed generation facilities. Deloros shared information about the recently held Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, where the topic of energy was one of the key ones, and expressed his intention to take an active part in the work of the subcommittee.

Member of the Nizhny Novgorod regional branch of "Business Russia" Vyacheslav Arakelyants, who also joined the subcommittee on small generation, proposed to work out an initiative to change the legislation in terms of lifting restrictions on the sale of electricity by retail producers for the losses of MRSKs. This problem is especially acute in the Nizhny Novgorod region, the business Russia member expressed hope for support of the initiative from the subcommittee on small generation of "Business Russia".

During the meeting, Maxim Zagornov also presented specific solutions for reducing energy costs, talking about one of the most popular mechanisms – the implementation of an energy service contract through the execution of a lease agreement for generating equipment.

"In today's economic conditions, an energy service contract is the most advantageous and transparent mechanism for consumers to obtain real savings with minimal risks. The key point is that the consumer begins to save on energy resources immediately after the generation facility is put into operation, without investing their own funds. After the facility is launched, the contractor supplies the consumer with electric and thermal energy at a discount relative to the prices and tariffs of resource supplying organizations and networks. The discount can reach 10 percent," the expert shared.

During the meeting, the subcommittee's work plan for the next six months was presented. Marina Maksimova, director of the exhibition, spoke about one of the upcoming events - the International Heat&Power Exhibition, on the sidelines of which the subcommittee on small generation will hold a series of business events.

“The Heat&Power exhibition will give everyone who is considering switching to their own generation the opportunity to study the proposals of manufacturers and suppliers of power generating equipment, discuss their projects and determine the optimal scenarios for their implementation,” shared Marina Maksimova and invited the members of the subcommittee to the exhibition.

Maria Nevolina, responsible secretary of the subcommittee on small generation, executive director of the Small Energy Association, spoke about the key project of the year – the International Award “Small Energy – Great Achievements”. This competition, aimed at identifying and encouraging the best projects and developments in the field of small distributed energy, will be held for the 11th time this year. The co-organizer of the Award is traditionally “Business Russia”.

"The award is a sign of quality and recognition in the industry. Thanks to the competition, the professional community will learn about the best technological solutions aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of Russian enterprises and reducing energy costs," said Maria Nevolina. She noted that applications for the Award are already being accepted on the project's website and will continue until November 1.

Summing up the meeting, the chairman of the subcommittee on small-scale generation of Delovaya Rossiya, president of the Small-Scale Energy Association, Maxim Zagornov, expressed hope for active and fruitful work.

"Our task is to build systemic support for companies operating in the small-scale generation industry. We are focused on practical measures and critical solutions for Russian businesses to reduce energy costs. This is especially important in the context of global challenges and sanctions pressure," Maxim Zagornov emphasized, concluding the meeting. He expressed his readiness to continue active interaction with the subcommittee experts and initiated the submission of requests by the meeting participants and members of Delovaya Rossiya on the vectors of further work of the subcommittee.

Source: Small Energy Association