“Gas in the village, warm in the house, a pie on the table”
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) organized a Working Groups meetings at the Government of the Tyumen region to discuss gasification, improvement of tariff regulation over the services for gas transportation and transition from state regulation of wholesale gas prices to state regulation of the tariffs for the services of gas transportation.
Three main items were put on the agenda: enhancing tariff-regulation efficiency in gas transportation services to consumers, implementing the gas pricing pilot project as well as practical results of executing the 2014–2017 gasification Programme for the Tyumen region. Attendees included representatives of the regional Government, gas-distributing organizations and large gas consumers.
According to the meeting Chairman, Deputy Head of FAS Anatoly Golomolzin, tariff indexation for gas consumption in the mid-term prospect is set no higher than the target inflation.
“Moreover, in line with this strategy the growth of tariffs for the services of natural monopolies in the field of natural gas sale will be lower than the inflation level in the economy”, pointed out the representative of the Federal Antimonopoly Service. “At the same time, this approach should ensure efficient performance and development of regulated organizations, particularly, gas-distribution and gas-transportation companies”.
Involvement of the regional authorities in tariff-setting decisions is important to support investment programmes of regulated companies at the stage of establishing as well as executing. To this purpose, a triple regulator contract is planned involving FAS, a subject of the Russian Federation and a regulated organization. For the first time in the tariff regulation practice, the scheme will be applied in the Tyumen region, the Rostov region and some other Russian provinces.
Regarding the pilot project on gas pricing, Anatoly Golomolzin said: “Currently gas is sold through the exchange sites, there are independent companies operating under free-pricing conditions. And prices formed through exchange trading are lower than regulated tariffs. The goal is that everybody wins from the principles of such fuel sale: prices are formed on the competitive basis and consumers can influence prices”.
Discussing the progress of the regional gasification programme, participants positively evaluated the experience accumulated by the Tyumen Region. Deputy Governor Vyacheslav Vakhrin described the cooperation practice between the Regional Government and the gas-distribution companies.
“Upon the initiative of the regional Government, the Tyumen Regional Duma adopted a draft law, granting tax benefits for the property of gas-distribution companies in the region provided that Tyumen Regional Gasification Programme will be based on the resource pricing method”, underlined Vyacheslav Vakhrin. “It reduced the costs of the gasification programme by 2.5 times”.
After the meeting, Anatoly Golomolzin and Vyacheslav Vakhrin attended gas-in by “Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Sever” Ltd. in the Ozerki village (Zavodoukovsky District, the Tyumen Region), where nearly a hundred of households were connected to the district gas supply networks. Unlike other regions in Russia, the connection was executed for free up to the entry to every house. The residents just need to undertake and independently acquire gas equipment.
The guests were given a hospitable welcome. “Gas in the village, warm in the house, a pie on the table”, said Anatoly Golomolzin. He emphasized that the experience of the Tyumen region in gasification, approved earlier by the State Council, will be extrapolated to other Russian regions.
Reference:
The gasification programme of the Tyumen region provides for constructing 203 gas-distribution facilities with the total length - 974 km. In 2.5 years, 172 gas-distribution facilities were commissioned: 765.26 km of networks, conditions are created to connect more than 11,300 households. One third of these houses is already connected to gas networks’.
Consumers themselves buy in-house gas equipment. Social support from the budget will be provided for the persons entitled to benefits from Tyumen regional budget: in the size of 25,000 RUB. The funds are aimed to partly compensate the costs for purchasing the necessary equipment, design the project and costing and pay for the works on gas pipeline installation and assembly. Since street gas pipe bends to land plots are built up under the gasification programme, consumers do not pay for technological connection.
The residents of the Ozerki village (Zavodoukovsky District, the Tyumen Region) will be able to use natural gas thanks to 2014-17 gasification programme for the Tyumen region and cooperation between the regional Government with “Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Sever” Ltd.
By 14 July, inside-the-house gas supply piping was completed for 31 houses in Ozerki, the owners of 12 houses already purchased the equipment and are ready to connect. Inside-the-house gasification works are performed under integrated contracts with “Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Sever” Ltd. The average costs of works was around 37,300 RUB, including 2227 RUB as the payment for the standard project, 35,100 RUB for installing a metering device, plate, boiler and piping.