FAS offers until the summer of 2021 to enter for the Railways a special mode where freight rates for the export of unpopular areas — the ports of the South and the North-West — can be lowered significantly below current thresholds to equalize the economy of delivery for these lucrative routes in the East. According to calculations of the service, it will have to give discounts from 16% to 55% when current limit is 12.8%. Lost profit of Russian Railways proposed to compensate in the 2021-2025 years due to the increased rate or additional volumes. Monopoly believe that the discount is already reached the limit, and experts believe that to properly assess netback-specific discounts, and the algorithm of their compensation in the future very difficult.The FAS gave their assessment of the amendments to the rules of non-discriminatory access to railway infrastructure, which, in particular, include the allocation methodology to the limited capacity of BAM and Transsib between different groups of goods, as well as carbon quotas between the coal companies of Kuzbass (see “Kommersant” on April 9 and 10). The differences between the transport Ministry and the energy Ministry on the document were resolved at the meeting with first Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov April 10, and it was decided not to submit it to the government Commission on transport and to prepare for signing.In response to the government’s request of 16 April (there is a “b”) by Deputy head of FAS Alexander Redko presented several comments. So, he offers prior to the entry into force of a new technique to produce “simulations and carrying capacities of the infrastructure and of the plan of formation of trains” to ensure that acceptance will not lead to lower freight transportation volumes relative to the long-term development program (IDR) of Russian Railways until 2025. Also FAS does not agree with the vesting of the Railways the right to charge goods sent on the bypass routes by bottlenecks at the actual distance. According to the service, this may not apply in respect of the volume of goods envisaged in the DPR, they must be charged at the shortest distance. At the moment, the loading of Russian Railways in tonnage behind the volumes specified in the DPR.To attract cargoes on the network and offload the Eastern site of the FAS offers “given the current crises in the economy for a year (from the text we can understand that from 1 July to 30 June 2021.— “Kommersant”) to establish a transition period in the area of tariff policy.” During this period you need to apply discounts to the Western and southern routes for coal and other export goods, in order to relieve the Eastern direction. Their condition should be compensation for losses of OAO RZD for the period of these discounts by taking on shippers commitments for additional volumes or increase about��Osney fees in future years up to 2025.The Federal Antimonopoly service has proposed to remove the lower boundary of the tariff corridor (right of Railways to give a discount to the tariff FAS). Now maximum discount is 50%, and energy coal over long distances is 12.8%, but the FAS offered to give the company the ability to offer discounts up to 99% (see “Kommersant” on March 24). Russian Railways was against such a right: as reported by the monopoly in response to proposals to introduce such a rate, it will create unreasonable market expectations about the possibility of reducing the tariff below the economically justified level (see “Kommersant” on April 17). “The key question discount — economic feasibility,— told “Kommersant” in monopoly.— Of 12.8% is the maximum possible economically reasonable size of the discount provided to redirect part of the traffic from the overloaded East direction”. Russian Railways has already given you a discount for the North-West and South (see “Kommersant” on 3 and 16 March).In a letter to Andrey Belousov on 31 March with the request to support the concept of the abolition of the lower boundary of the tariff corridor and to recommend to the Railways give discounts to the level of equal Eastern, southern and North-Western routes (there is a “b”) FAS results in the estimation of the size of discounts. So, according to the calculations of the services on the basis of netback and market prices as of March 27, to align the cost of delivery FOB Vanino and Vostochny port required discounts on Ust-Luga in the amount of 55%, in Murmansk — 48%, in Novorossiysk and the Taman — 19% and 16% respectively. The FAS reviews “b” is not given.Approach alignment netback completely incomprehensible, because in the chain there are opaque elements commercial terms, the availability of port assets, the impact of sales of futures contracts, and so forth, the head of Infoline-Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov. This approach, in his opinion, can be used to simulate or assess the situation, but in any case not for billing. And this element of regulation, as compensation for the discount in the future does not exist, it is unclear how to count. But, according to mister Burmistrova, sensible grain in acknowledgment of the fact that the elements of the tariff policy can be changed in the period of crisis. “Now there is such concept, as the affected industry, the backbone of the enterprise,— he explains— and this design can somehow be integrated with special tariff conditions”. It would be sufficient to enable the Railways to provide a great discount and give the possibility to determine, the expert believes.Natalia Skorlygina
