Strategic guidelines for sustainable development of the fuel and energy complex in the regional economy of Russia

The article seeks to strengthen the theoretical and methodological basis for the digital transition of the fuel and energy complex in the regional economy of Russia (using the electric power industry of the Central Federal District - CFD as an example). A factor analysis of the capacity of power plants and electricity generation in the regional economy of Russia is carried out through a regression analysis of their dependence on the factors that determine the sustainable development of the fuel and energy complex in the regional economy during the transition to Industry 4.0: financing and mass use of digital technologies. The conducted empirical study made it possible to form a systemic understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships of sustainable development of the fuel and energy complex in the regional economy of the Central Federal District of Russia in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The main theoretical conclusion is that the most promising digital technology for the modernization of the fuel and energy complex in the regions of the Central Federal District of Russia is big data. Based on the econometric model, a forecast of sustainable development of the fuel and energy complex in the regional economy of the Central Federal District of Russia until 2030 has been compiled, which is supported by strategic guidelines for sustainable development of the electric power industry in the economy of each Central Federal District of Russia in the considered time period. In particular, financial (required annual volume of expenses for modernization), technological (necessary scale of increase in the share of organizations using big data) and production (target capacity of power plants and volume of electricity generation) strategic guidelines for sustainable development of the fuel and energy complex in each region of the Central Federal District are proposed. The applied recommendations developed in this article support the implementation of the strategic direction in the field of digital transformation of the fuel and energy complex until 2030. The implementation of the author’s proposals will ensure accelerated advancement of the regional economy of Russia along the strategic vector of sustainable development of the fuel and energy complex associated with strengthening the high-tech nature of the electric power industry.