BRUSSELS, July 24. /TASS/. The European Union has imposed sanctions on Russian energy holding Inter RAO, the EU Council said in a message published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Naming the reasons for sanctioning Inter RAO, EU officials said that it s one of Russia’s largest energy companies with around 19 million consumers, and that it plays a significant role in Russia’s economy.

Inter RAO is a diversified Russian energy holding comprising companies engaged in electric and thermal power generation, energy trading, electricity retail, power engineering, engineering services, and industry-specific IT. It operates in several countries and is present in more than 30 regions across Russia. Its installed capacity stands at around 31 GW.

The company’s main shareholders are Inter RAO Capital Group (28.88%), Rosneftegaz (26.36%), and Rosseti FGC UES (8.56%), while about 34% of shares are in free float.