Social mission of the Russian business community of today is first and foremost includes achievement of sustainable development of independent and responsible companies in accordance with the long-term development interests of the territories and social objectives of the community.

In this respect a society-oriented business is an integral part of the society ensuring the increase of cumulative public welfare and social progress. Partnership relations with the government, population, services consumers, partners, suppliers, shareholders, and the own employees are essential for successful business creating a conducive environment for the territory’s development.

OJSC Novosibirskenergo is one of the most dynamic Russian energy companies, the first one in the sector to carry out restructuring though creation of its own market infrastructure by efficient attraction of investments. The company bases its work on universal human and democratic values of human dignity, mutual respect and recognition of the rights of all clients to our products-electric and heat energy. Our company is prepared to cooperate at the level of individuals, groups and institutions of the community. Today Novosibirskenergo is successfully adapting to a new economic environment and is steadily growing as a western-style company. It is open to dialogue, financially transparent (in line with the International standards of financial reporting practice since 2002) and has already obtained a number of western credits.

The today’s social priority of the company is to cover the complete energy demand of the region, which would provide opportunities for setting up new businesses, creating new jobs, and ensuring higher standards of living. The social responsibility of the company to the consumers is to provide products of consistently high quality, in line with international energy standards. It also incurs provision of energy safety, ecology, and saving energy resources. To this end the company has implemented a series of target projects, including a joint initiative to fight metal theft together with the State Departments of Internal Affairs of the city and the region.

Stressing the significance of launching new facilities in 2004, V.A. Tolokonksy, the governor of the Novosibirsk Region, remarked: “We have not only preserved, but we are also developing new facilities. Another unit of the TPP-5 was put in operation and will cover our energy needs for a whole number of years. We will have to build more power lines and substations, continue developing the existing communication facilities. This process, which is partially formed by the tariff policies, is aimed at increasing competitiveness of our companies”. According to Mr. Gorodetsky, the Novosibirsk’s Mayor “development of the energy sector provides us with a highly reliable outline of precisely how the city’s closest residential areas will be developing in the next two years with the complete infrastructure. Finally, the latest engineering equipment will allow easing the pressure on the tariffs, which will result in cheaper energy”.

The second key priority is the company’s program of development of human resources. The staff conference of 29 October 2004, approved a collective bargaining contract between the Novosibirskenergo OJSC and its employees. The contract is essentially based on the sector’s tariff agreement and the new remuneration system developed by the Novosibirskenergo OJSC preserving the provisions of the earlier collective bargaining contracts adopted by the Novosibirskenergo OJSC. The young people enjoy a hiring preference, as well as social guarantees. Diagnostics and treatment programs for employees are given a high priority, especially in part of its operations staff. Children of employees traditionally receive New Year presents in the winter and in summer spend time in health camps. This reflects the company’s general understanding that employees should be protected by a whole package of social obligations and implies a sense of the company’s growth and stability. The employees obtain information about various company events from the corporate newspaper Vestnik Novosibirskenergo, as well as on our website and in press releases.

Finally, the third key priority is the company’s involvement social life of the region. Last year the company completed a charity program worth of 28 million rubles. In the social area, the company has two priorities: sports and young people. The youth program is geared toward bringing up qualified specialists for the energy industry, drawing gifted secondary school and university students of Novosibirsk into the ranks of our profession. The company provides sponsorship to Orphanage №1, holds guided tours of hydro power plants and thermal power plants, contests of essays, papers and drawings. Novosibirskenergo OJSC has close ties with the corresponding Energy Department of the Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU): some of our associates are among the teaching panel, others are students there; each year about 40 graduates join our company first as interns and eventually as employees. The company provides scholarships to three best students of the NSTU’s Energy Department. Our subsidiary company Stroitel’ CJSC has recently buit and presented to the NSTU students a wonderful Palace of Sports. The company plans to further extend its collaboration with the University since the reform of the Russian energy sector will hopefully yield new jobs. In the summer of 2004, the company became a prize winner of the regional program “A Unique Resource for Siberia’s Economy,” which was launched by the Public Council on Social Partnership. The program involved lectures for students on modern economic development, management, and public relations, competitions of business projects and of the papers with the topics covering several areas of economy and law.

OJSC Novosibirskenergo is the General sponsor of the women’s basketball team “Dinamo-Energiya,” which has become our company’s business card and a source of our special pride. Naturally the company often holds sports competitions, since the profession of an energy specialist requires excellent health.

In 2004, in recognition of the social significance of the company’s development policy, the industrialists of the Novosibirsk Region elected Mr. Kornei Gibert, the Director General, the head of the regional branch of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. This is yet another proof of the company’s full awareness of its role in society and provides a major channel for interaction between representatives of the business community and the government aimed at further development of the city and the region.