North Caucasus accused of gasification problems in Russia

Based on the results of the audit of gasification in Russia in the period 2017-2020, the Accounts Chamber discovered systemic deficiencies that sharply slow down the process. This is reported by RBC with reference to the report on the work of the department for 2020.

The main problem is the chronic losses of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz (part of the Gazprom group), in which the republics of the North Caucasus are primarily to blame. Local consumers account for more than half of the debt.

As follows from the message of the company on March 12, over the past year, the accounts receivable of consumers as a whole increased by 2.4 percent, to 180 billion rubles. The North Caucasian Federal District accounts for about 100 billion rubles.

Meanwhile, back in August 2020, the head of the Accounts Chamber, Alexei Kudrin, claimed that the debt of Russian consumers for gas reached 331 billion rubles. In a conversation with President Vladimir Putin, he noted that fuel is still supplied to the republics of the North Caucasus without contracts, and all decisions that were made to rectify the situation have not been implemented.

At the same time, Kudrin pointed out that over the past three years, only 15 percent of the gasification plan has been fulfilled, and the financing of measures is only decreasing. In his opinion, it is impossible to solve the problem at such a pace, and the corresponding plans will inevitably fail.

In the current report, the auditors named the lack of a unified approach to determining its level as another important problem of gasification. The fact is that Gazprom Mezhregiongaz calculates the level according to its own method. However, it differs significantly from the principles approved by the Ministry of Energy, which leads to distortion of reporting and planning problems.

At the beginning of December last year, it became known that in five years “Gazprom” will build 1.3 thousand kilometers of gas pipelines in Chechnya and will bring the gasification of the region to 100 percent. The work is estimated at 12.3 billion rubles. The corresponding agreement was signed despite the fact that, as of January 1, 2018, the debt of residents of Chechnya exceeded 13 billion rubles.

Currently, the authorities are looking for money for the announced program of gasification of the country until 2030. A number of proposals were recently submitted to the Kremlin by the State Council.

/Media reports.