The article deals with a promising approach to solving the problem of investment in the regional electric power industry — the application of demand-side management, the essence of which lies in proactive interaction of energy companies with customers, based on the balance of economic interests. The features of the concept and its tools are revealed, positive results of its implementation for energy market players and the region are shown, and examples of demand-side management programs are given. Institutional and mental barriers to effective implementation of demand-side management tools in power generation are analyzed. The article also proposes algorithms for implementing demand-side management programs in the region, and a mix of motivational activities that combines methods of administrative enforcement and economic stimulus for energy companies and consumers of energy and power, as well as guidelines on project funding and effectiveness evaluation.

The paper considers anti-crisis solutions for the electricity sector that fall into the category of strategic ones. Their primary purpose is to ensure the flexibility and adaptability of the system and prevent emergencies in the future. The authors explain the need for a holistic approach to taking anti-crisis decisions in power engineering and propose ways to improve the economic mechanism of cost reduction based upon international practice and placed in the Russian context. The benefits of demand-side management in ensuring the reliability of power supplies amid crisis are shown. The paper looks at various implementation modalities for demand-side management programmes and explores development prospects for distributed generation in Russia and stand-alone power supply options for manufacturing companies. Factors are assessed that affect the cost effectiveness of going off the grid. A general scheme of cost management aimed at reaching the strategic goals of the regional electricity sector is presented. The authors reveal possible applications and advantages of using predictive analytics for effective cost management. Ways of improving asset management are considered as well as the possibility of their employment in the Russian context. The key barriers to their implementations and ways of overcoming them are identified.

The innovative development sets large-scale and challenging tasks, which need to be addressed in the lack-of-knowledge conditions and require the coordination and integration of numerous expert structures, which are scattered around the world and have different status and competencies. One of the mechanisms of integrating the partners’ intellectual and financial resources is provided by the technology platforms. The article discusses the nature and functions of technology platforms and analyzes the experience of their application in different countries with a special emphasis on universities. The article gives an overview of the various interpretations of technology platform concepts. It also describes the development and implementation of the technological platform at the Ural Federal University (research and education centre ‘ENGEC’), which was targeted at organizing anticipatory learning in the sphere of energy engineering and high-tech industries; its mechanism and role in improving different university activities and processes are shown. This platform is based on the original methodology ‘Integrated System of Consulting, Training, and Transformation’ (ISCT), which includes authentic methods and technologies, which are used in the educational process. A significant advantage of this methodology is that it can be applied in university education as well as in corporate training integrated with innovative activities.