Helsinki, 23 November 2006. Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" Anatoly Chubais and President and CEO of Finland's Fortum Oyj Mikael Lilius have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol* mechanisms in Russia. The signing ceremony was held during the 8th General Meeting of the EU-Russian Industrialists' Round Table being held in Helsinki today.

RAO "UES of Russia" and Fortum have traditionally attached particular importance to environmental activities and ensuring ecological safety of the electricity and heat they generate. The MoU confirms the Companies' intentions to join efforts within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol in order to develop and implement projects at RAO UES entities. Such cooperation will also help find additional sources of funding for the RAO UES investment programme.

To date, RAO "UES of Russia" has produced a list of top priority projects under the Kyoto Protocol, which includes over 40 projects with a total reduction of emissions of over 35 million tonnes of CO2. In 2005, two energy subsidiaries of RAO "UES of Russia", OAO "Khabarovskenergo" and OAO "Orenburgenergo" were the first in Russia to make contracts to sell the greenhouse gas emission reduction units obtained as a result of modernization of their power plants in Khabarovsk Kray and Orenburg Region to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

Fortum has significant experience in ensuring sustainable environment-friendly development, and has been an active participant in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) since early 2005. "Our company was the first foreign strategic investor in the Russian electricity industry, and we will be happy to play an important role in Kyoto implementation in Russia," said Fortum's Mikael Lilius.

During the signing ceremony, Anatoly Chubais and Mikael Lilius said they hoped that Russia would soon adopt the necessary legislative measures to make possible the implementation of their understandings in respect of the Kyoto Protocol.