YELETS, Lipetsk Region — Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia's richest man according to Forbes, said he would expand his presence in the country's privatized power sector as he opened a 52-megawatt power unit built by TGK-4, half-owned by him, in the Lipetsk region Friday.

Prokhorov also said he was worried about a second wave of the crisis, comparing the possible deluge to 19th-century painter Ivan Aivazovsky's "The Ninth Wave." But Prokhorov praised the government for taking the right steps to combat the crisis.

"Our company is the first company to open a generation unit since the crisis began, and we want to fulfill all our investment obligations," Prokhorov said at the unit's opening ceremony in the Lipetsk regional town of Yelets, located 380 kilometers south of Moscow.

Prokhorov's Onexim Group took on the investment obligations last year when it bought about 50 percent of TGK-4, an electricity and heat generator that runs 25 stations in European Russia.

"However, we will also think about where we want to build because some of our consumers may consume more, while others may not survive," Prokhorov said.

Lipetsk Governor Oleg Korolyov was quick to assure Prokhorov that he was spending his money in the right place. "Cherkizovo Group will build Europe's biggest meat processing plant in Yelets soon, so there will be a guaranteed consumer," Korolyov said.

But TGK-4 chairwoman Yulia Basova, who also attended the opening, noted that the company was in talks with the Energy Ministry to delay the launch of a 240-megawatt power unit in the city of Lipetsk from 2010 until 2013 because of a lack of consumers and no access to gas supplies. TGK-4's investment program through 2014 amounts to $800 million.

Prokhorov said investment in the electricity sector was "key" for him. "We are planning to raise our stake in the energy sector," Prokhorov said, declining to elaborate as he talked to reporters after the opening ceremony. "Private Russian business is obliged to invest in the energy sector."

TGK-4 invested 1.5 billion rubles ($46.6 million) in the construction of the Yelets unit.

Vladimir Filonov / MT Prokhorov, touring the Yelets station, said his holding doesn't have any loans and is looking for opportunities.

Prokhorov was ranked the country's richest man with a $9.5 billion fortune by Forbes magazine's Russian edition in May, but he said "these estimates don't mean anything to me." In fact, he said, "I don't agree with them." He declined to explain why.

Asked whether the crisis would grow worse in Russia, Prokhorov referred reporters to "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky, famous for his trademark seascapes. The painting depicts people on the wreckage of a ship facing a high wave as dawn breaks after a night storm. The picture is called "The Ninth Wave" because seamen believe that the ninth wave is the strongest in a storm.

"Do you like 'The Ninth Wave' by Aivazovsky? Then hang it on your wall and keep looking at it all day long," Prokhorov said.

"The situation is not easy, but the government is doing all it can to locate problem spots in the economy," he said.

Prokhorov said, however, that annual inflation could never be lower than 8 percent, a figure far higher than the 2 percent to 3 percent typical in Western economies. "In my personal opinion, Russia's economy by definition generates inflation of 8 percent a year," Prokhorov said.

"Russia's natural monopolies and housing companies are monopolized, their tariffs are growing and there is no competition among these companies," Prokhorov said. "In such circumstances, inflation lower than 8 percent would begin to kill development." The Economic Development Ministry forecasts inflation of 13 percent this year.

Prokhorov also said aluminum prices have stabilized, allowing United Company RusAl to become profitable again. "Prices for aluminum will grow in the future," said Prokhorov, who owns an 18.5 percent stake in RusAl. Prices have shot up 18 percent since hitting an eight-year low in February.

Turning to his personal investment strategy, Prokhorov said he wanted to wait before buying any development companies because "the crisis hasn't affected them completely." He also said he considered it risky to bail out banks until the amount of bad assets reaches its peak.

"Our group doesn't have any loans, and we are keeping enough cash for development," Prokhorov said. "We have diversified our investment, and we are still looking for opportunities for the time being."

Some local journalists, though, seemed to be more interested in Prokhorov's status as Russia's most eligible bachelor than his investment plans.

"Have you seen his car? Is it a Maybach?" a female TV reporter asked her colleague as Prokhorov made his opening speech.

Curvy models invited to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony drooled over the 44-year-old businessman. "Look how tall he is! He looks so slim and healthy, so energetic," one model said.

"How right you are. He's so sexy!" another replied. "What does he own, 28 percent of Norilsk Nickel?"

Prokhorov sold his 25 percent stake in Norilsk Nickel to RusAl in April 2008.