Energy Self-Sufficiency of Russian Regions and Its Impact on Sustainable Development

Improving the energy efficiency of federal subjects in the context of their sustainable development is fully consistent with the global green agenda and, in accordance with adopted Russian regulatory documents, represents a state assignment. Sustainable development is influenced by many conditions and factors, including the availability of regions’ own energy resources. Energy self-sufficiency in the general energy sense implies self-sufficiency of regions not only in terms of electricity, but also other fuel and energy resources (coal, natural gas, oil, etc.). However, the article focuses on the problem of regional self-sufficiency in electricity supply. The aim of the article is to construct typological groups of regions depending on the degree of influence on their sustainable development of such indicators as a region’s energy supply and the share of energy losses in power grids. The study covers 85 federal subjects of Russia, based on data for 2022, and uses a methodology developed by the author, which first assesses the country’s regions based on the analyzed indicators, then classifies them. As a result, quantitative and qualitative parameters made it possible to create four groups of regions differing from each other in their characteristics of sustainable development. To improve the level of sustainable development and energy efficiency of regions, for each identified group, authorities should make not typical, but typological decisions that take into account the impact of a region’s energy self-sufficiency and energy losses on gross regional product and gross regional product per capita. The research makes a theoretical contribution to solving the scientific and practical problem of leveling energy imbalances in regional electricity production and consumption models. The practical significance of the study is that the obtained results can be used by regional authorities in implementing energy policy in the region, and the proposed tools and mechanisms can be directly used in their practical activities.