MOSCOW, December 12, 2007 Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents information concerning how Russians estimate the state that the power industry is in in our country, what types of power systems they consider to be the most promising and how they evaluate the idea of creating a competitive environment in the sector.

The relative majority of Russians (42%) consider that the power industry in Russia is now quite stable. The branch is successfully developing, as 15% of respondents identify. A little more respondents (26%) believe that it, on the contrary, is deteriorating and growing more and more technologically outdated. The share of pessimists has reduced by 4% this year.

It is necessary to actively develop new environmentally responsible ways to generate electricity, making use of the energy of the sun, wind, tides as well as geothermal energy, as 35% respondents identify. 20% of respondents speak in favor of setting the development of nuclear power industry as our first priority, 14% think that water-power engineering should be the first to develop. Less numerous are the supporters of promoting the thermal power stations working on black oil, coal, peat (9%). The idea of importing electric power from abroad is far from being popular (only gaining 1% of respondents´ vote). The share of respondents who speak for priority development of power stations utilizing the energy of the sun, wind, etc. has reduced, in comparison with 2005 (from 49% down to 35%). The share of respondents who find it hard to provide an adequate answer to this question has simultaneously increased (from 10% up to 21%).

It is necessary to pursue a policy aimed at achieving high profitability of the branch in the electric power industry sector for it to provide income to the state and the social sphere, as 46% of respondents specify. The idea that one should maintain reasonable prices for electric power even if it may lead to a decrease in incomes in the sector and will lower its reliability receives less support in the society (38%). Still only a year ago both these variants had nearly identical shares of supporters (42-43% for each of the two). The respondents with high to average estimation of own financial standing are more likely to speak in favor of high profitability of the sector, whereas those with low estimation of the same factor would rather support maintaining reasonable prices for electric power.

The majority of respondents (69%) believe that it is necessary to keep the state control over generation and transfer of the electric power even if it caused a decrease in the sector's economic efficiency. Only 14% of respondents suppose that it is necessary to create private companies to generate and transfer the electric power, to create a competitive environment in the sector in order to increase its efficiency. The share of respondents who found it hard to choose the better variant of these two has increased in comparison with the last year. The idea of maintaining the state control receives more approval among the voters of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and "Fair Russia" (76-77%), than among the supporters of "Unified Russia" (70%) and LDPR (63%).

The initiative all-Russia opinion poll was conducted by VCIOM on November 17-18, 2007. 1600 respondents were interviewed in 153 population areas of 46 regions of Russia. The statistical error does not exceed 3.4%.