The Russian Government will provide equal support to public and private electricity companies, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said at a news conference, after a second power unit at the Bureiskaya hydropower plant in the Amur Region came on stream.

"We use a relatively equal approach to companies with state capital and companies owned by private shareholders," he said. "All of them will have equal access to state support funds."

Mr Sechin also said that the Government would regularly monitor the situation in power generation amid the current economic crisis. "We will insist that all parties honour their commitments," he said, referring to compliance with the companies' investment programmes.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, "a mechanism of state guarantees, including loans under a bond scheme and replenishment of working capital, is being elaborated."

He noted that notifications had been sent to all companies and corresponding work was under way. Mr Sechin stressed that "the distribution of funds among companies will depend on a given company's requirements."