The company “Gazprom” is going to cut its business in Dagestan and is thinking of completely abandoning the sale of gas and gas distribution in the region, writes “Kommersant”.
The newspaper notes that the head of the company, Alexei Miller, proposed to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to create a single operator in Dagestan that would take over these functions. Gazprom wants to keep only wholesale supplies to the region.
A letter with such a proposal was sent in mid-February. The company explained its intentions with large debts for gas: the amount of overdue debt as of October 1, 2020 is estimated at 14.9 billion rubles. The publication also notes that the company’s work in the region is complicated by non-payments for gas, illegal consumption, and lawsuits to collect payments for the use of networks. Gazprom did not comment on the information.
Currently, gas sales in Dagestan are carried out through Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Makhachkala, and gas distribution – through Gazprom Gas Distribution Dagestan and Gazprom Gas Distribution Makhachkala. Miller proposed to transfer the networks belonging to the region and municipalities to the new federal state enterprise. There is another option – to “donate” the networks to the state, and later they will be transferred to the new company for operational management.
The problem of debts for gas in the republics of the North Caucasus has been around for a long time. The region traditionally accounts for more than half of non-payments for energy resources in the country.