Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012

Advanced Economic Cooperationin Sectors and Industriesoperation of the Kazakh and Russian UES was reinstated; and in September2000 the power grids of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistanthat were parties to the Central Asian IPS together with Kazakhstan’s electricitysystem launched their first time ever parallel operation. By 2001 the Agreementon Ensuring Parallel Operation of the Electric Power Systems of the CIS MemberStates had made it possible to establish an integrated power system betweenthe CIS member states, which subsequently enabled the power grids of the CIScountries (except Armenia) to work in parallel mode (Mishuk, 2011).On January 25, 2000 twelve countries signed the Agreement on the Transitof Electric Power among the CIS Member States (CIS, 2000). Pursuant to theagreement (CIS, 1998), the Council of Heads of States approved the Conceptfor the Formation of the Common Electric Power Market of the CIS MemberStates (CIS, 2005a).The Concept encompasses shared approaches to the common electric powermarket in the CIS. It takes into account the key principles of the unificationand liberalisation of the European power markets as embodied in EuropeanParliament and European Council directives and provides the basis for furtherregulation in this area.The main objective of the Concept is to create a common electric power marketin the CIS based on the power systems that work in parallel and on the principlesof national equality, fair competition, and mutual benefit.The Concept defines a functional structure of a future common electric powermarket based on the following relationships between participants:• wholesale purchases and sales of electricity with independent pricingagreed between buyers and sellers;• a centralised electricity market;• a balancing market; and• a market for system and auxiliary services, including a mechanism for usingpower reserves, regulating capacity and maintaining the energy balance.On May 30, 2008 the EurAsEC Energy Policy Council approved the draftConcept, which was ratified by heads of governments on December 12, 2008.On May 25, 2007 six CIS countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan and Armenia) drafted the Agreement on the Formation of the CommonCIS Electric Power Market. However, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan, Georgia and Moldova refused to sign up to the new document andthe parties made a decision to continue operations within the framework of thepreviously signed agreement. In order to establish a common electric powermarket, the member countries must undertake to maintain the energy balance206 EDB Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012