Holding company Rosseti has published the largest tender in the history of the Russian electric power industry on the public procurement portal for the supply of electricity meters and smart metering system equipment. The initial maximum purchase price is 66.7 billion rubles. The tender combines the needs of 15 subsidiaries of the holding company at once and is structured as a single indivisible lot, which, according to market participants, significantly narrows the circle of potential suppliers.

Volume and Composition of the Procurement

Deliveries under the contract are scheduled for the period 2027–2029. In addition to the metering devices themselves, the procurement includes communication modems, outdoor cabinets, measuring transformers, and switching panels — a complete set of equipment for deploying smart metering systems. The winner of the competition will receive the right to conclude separate agreements with all 15 subsidiaries of Rosseti, which effectively turns a single tender into a series of long-term contracts with the country's largest energy operator.

A Single Indivisible Lot: Why It Matters

The main feature of the competition is the impossibility of dividing the order among several suppliers. Market participants interviewed by CNews believe that this approach can significantly limit competition: instead of several manufacturers getting shares of the supplies, the entire volume will be concentrated in the hands of a single winner. This reduces incentives for price dumping and could lead to an overstatement of the final contract price compared to a situation where the lot was split into regional or product parts.

Financial Barrier for Participants

An additional restriction is the strict financial requirements for participants. Performance bond and warranty obligations are set at no less than 5% of the contract value. With a purchase price of 66.7 billion rubles, this amounts to approximately 3.3 billion rubles. According to CNews estimates, only a limited number of electricity meter manufacturers in Russia meet such financial capabilities.

Who Can Participate

The largest player in the industry is the NARTIS plant, whose revenue in 2025 amounted to 27.6 billion rubles, and net profit to 13.2 billion rubles. Energomera's revenue reached 12.2 billion rubles, but net profit was only 602.5 million rubles. Milur IS revenue for the same period was 542.9 million rubles, and the company incurred a loss of 139 million rubles. Thus, the need to provide collateral of several billion rubles makes participation in the competition practically inaccessible to most manufacturers, with the possible exception of one or two market leaders.

Rosseti's Position

Rosseti holding itself did not answer CNews questions regarding the reasons for combining the procurement into a single indivisible lot and assessing the financial capabilities of potential participants. This leaves open the question of how consciously the holding's management approaches the balance between simplifying supply logistics and maintaining a competitive environment in the smart electricity metering systems market.