Moscow. 16 January 2007. Non-profit Partnership of Guarantee Suppliers and Energy Retail Companies (NP GP and ERCs) has received a certificate of official registration from the Moscow City Directorate of the Federal Registration Service and started its activities.

The Partnership was set up pursuant to the resolution of the Board of Directors of RAO "UES of Russia" of 27 October 2006 to represent and protect the interests of retail electricity market participants, including independent electricity retailers. Its objectives are to set up an efficient competitive retail market for electricity, prepare proposals for draft legal acts regulating energy retail activities on the electricity markets, and increase the efficiency and reliability of electricity supply to customers.

Among the Partnership founders are RAO "UES of Russia", its energy retail subsidiaries – OAO "Kaluga Retail Company", OAO "Oryol Retail Company", OAO "Energosbyt Rostovenergo", OAO "Mosenergosbyt", OAO "Tambov Energy Retail Company", OAO "Nizhny Novgorod Retail Company", and independent retailers – OOO "Rusenergosbyt", OAO "RusEnergo Holding Company", OOO "KES-Trading", ZAO "Dizazh M", and OOO "Transneftservis S". In addition, over 50 retail companies have announced their intention to join the Partnership.

Andrey Pivovarov, Head of RAO UES Power Grid Monitoring Project Group, was elected Chairman of the Partnership's Management Board. It is planned that the Supervisory Board and its Chairperson will be elected at the Founders' Meeting scheduled for late January.

The Supervisory Board will have government representatives among its members, including officials from the Ministry of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Federal Antimonopoly Service and Federal Tariffs Service of Russia.

RAO UES Management Board Chairman Anatoly Chubais said, "We see the establishment of the partnership as one of the steps toward future reorganization of RAO "UES of Russia" and transfer of the parent company's functions to market SROs. In the area of energy retailing, the newly established partnership may become one of such organizations."