2 May 2007 - Russian premier Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to set up a nuclear energy corporation, AtomEnergoProm, by 1 July, 2007 and transfer the stock of the industry's enterprises to its charter capital by presidential decree.

Putin said the new joint-stock company, designed to run the country's nuclear power industry, would be entirely controlled by the state. AtomEnergoProm, which will be wholly controlled by the government, will be a full-cycle corporation engaged in activities ranging from uranium extraction, fuel production and electric power generation, to the construction of nuclear power plants, both at home and abroad.

The new body will exercise centralized control over the civilian nuclear power sector following the merger of four existing nuclear power companies - TVEL, Techsnabexport, Rosenergoatom and Atomstroyexport. It also said Russia could expand its uranium ore production and become third in the world in terms of identified uranium ore reserves in the future.

In his annual state of the nation address, Putin said power generation is a high priority for the Russian economy, in which 12 trillion roubles ($467.1 billion) will be invested by 2020. He said: "A major structural reform will be implemented - in effect, the country's second comprehensive electrification. Power generation in Russia is to grow 66 per cent by 2020."

The president said that new power plants would be built, existing ones modernized and the power grid expanded and diversified. He said nuclear power would remain a priority, and proposed the establishment of a corporation to streamline the nuclear industry. "Thirty nuclear power plants were built in the country during the Soviet period. And we need to build another 26, based on the latest technology."