Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal said that the government intends to fix the upper limit of gas prices for the population at 6.99 hryvnia per cubic meter.
“This price will be valid for the quarantine period or until the end of the heating season, that is, at least until April.
Next, we will see what the situation will be.
Perhaps the price will go down sharply, then we will remove this restriction, ”Shmygal said on the air of the 1 + 1 TV channel.
In the near future, the Ukrainian government is to adopt a decree to reduce gas tariffs.
On January 14, Yulia Grishina, a deputy from the Servant of the People faction, announced this on her Telegram channel.
According to her, from February 1, the total amount of payments indicated in payments should decrease by 500-800 hryvnia.
“So, gas - the maximum price in Ukraine - 6.99 (hryvnia per cubic meter. -
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).
Distribution tariff (gas supply. -
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) - maximum UAH 1.79.
The price will be the same across the country, without significant differences, as it is now, ”Grishina wrote.
On January 13, at a meeting with the leadership of the government and the energy industry, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky complained about the excessively high cost of natural gas for the population.
As a result, the Ukrainian authorities decided to introduce state regulation of prices during quarantine.
“Roughly today, some regional gas companies are selling at a price of more than 10 hryvnias, that is, with the introduction of this regulation, gas prices will decrease by more than 30%,” the head of the Cabinet of Ministers said.
He also noted that this is the lowest price on the Ukrainian stock exchange.
At present, the cost of gas from different suppliers ranges from 6.99 to 10.8 hryvnia per cubic meter.
At the same time, Zelensky and Shmyhal emphasized that the practice of state regulation of the cost of gas contradicts the strategic course of the Ukrainian state aimed at creating a free internal market, and therefore will be applied only temporarily due to the difficult situation due to COVID-19.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal
Reuters
© Gleb Garanich
Meanwhile, according to a RT source at the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine, the size of the tariff for the transportation of blue fuel has not yet been finally approved.
“The cost of gas will really not exceed 6.99 hryvnia per cubic meter, and NJSC Naftogaz is ready to sell it at such prices.
But the tariff for its transportation is still being discussed.
In its cost, 40% is the price of the fuel itself, therefore, in theory, the tariff should also be reduced, but not by 30%, ”says the interlocutor of RT.
"Propaganda manipulations"
The intervention of the Ukrainian government in the gas price formation process was preceded by protests in various regions of the country, popularly known as the "tariff maidan".
The rallies were held in Kiev, Odessa, Kharkov, Poltava, Nikolaev, Lvov, Kherson, Chernivtsi, Transcarpathian, Vinnitsa and other regions.
In some localities, citizens have blocked roads.
On the afternoon of January 15, protesters, not meeting police resistance, occupied the building of the regional state administration in Zhitomir.
“If a deputy does not go to the people, then people go to the deputy,” Vladimir Mikhalets, a participant in the assault, commented on the actions of the protesters.
The reason for the indignation of the inhabitants of Ukraine was a significant increase in tariffs for natural gas.
For example, in June, Ukrainians paid 2.78 hryvnia per cubic meter of gas, but as a result of constant increases by January 2021, suppliers set prices in the range from 6.99 to 10.8 hryvnia.
In addition, from January 1, 2020, citizens were obliged to pay separately for the supply of blue fuel.
In parallel with this, before the onset of 2021, Ukrainians were raised tariffs for electricity, heating and water.
In an interview with RT, a professor at the Higher School of Economics, political scientist Oleg Matveychev stated that the Ukrainian authorities carried out a simple manipulation: they multiplied prices for blue fuel, and then made a 30 percent temporary "discount".
According to the expert, in reality, the Ukrainian consumer did not gain anything from this alleged reduction in gas prices.
“All this cannot be called except as propaganda manipulations.
First, the Kiev authorities make a huge increase in gas prices, then they triumphantly announce that they were able to lower them for citizens.
This is a mockery of people whose well-being is highly dependent on the level of utility tariffs, ”said Matveychev.
Viktor Medvedchuk, leader of the political council of the Opposition Platform - For Life party, spoke extremely negatively about the establishment of a fixed gas price.
According to him, the national average, taking into account the distribution tariff, the final price for gas for the population will be 8.81 hryvnia per cubic meter.
“This means that there can be no talk of any declared 30% reduction.
From which it follows that the authorities do not intend to reduce tariffs to economically justified ones, ”the website of the OPSZ quotes Medvedchuk.
Gas distribution station in Ukraine
Reuters
© Anatolii Stepanov
The politician believes that the Ukrainian leadership is finally tightening the tariff noose, acting in the interests of the oligarchs and foreign owners, by which he means the IMF.
Recall that the International Monetary Fund requires Kiev to equalize the cost of gas for the Ukrainian population with market prices.
The way out of this situation is seen in the OPSL in concluding direct contracts with Gazprom and refusing to reverse Russian gas from Europe.
According to the party, thanks to agreements with the Russian company, the price for the supply of blue fuel will be able to be brought down by a quarter.
“In our opinion, it is necessary to stop playing with Russian gas, which is supplied to the country through Austria, and sign direct agreements with Gazprom in order to receive this gas 25% cheaper than what is now being done, when this, that the same Russian gas is supplied through intermediaries from Austria for $ 100 more expensive, ”Yury Boyko, co-chairman of the OPLZ faction, said earlier.
On the verge of default
Experts interviewed by RT note that Zelensky's current tariff policy indicates a reluctance to fulfill earlier promises and provide assistance to the most vulnerable groups of the population.
In July 2019, Zelenskiy said that his team was developing an economic model that would allow people over 70 years old not to pay a utility bill at all.
In December, he promised to find an "interesting solution" to reduce heat tariffs by almost 50%.
However, to date, none of these initiatives have been implemented.
An RT source in the Batkivshchyna party said that most Ukrainian citizens barely have enough money to pay utility bills.
Due to the sharp rise in prices in recent months, the debt on utility bills is growing rapidly in the country.
“After the tariff increase, many Ukrainian families were faced with a choice: to save on food, to buy basic necessities, or to pay for gas,” the source stated.
The interlocutor of RT believes that the state of affairs for Kiev is complicated by the negative position of the IMF, which insists on a further increase in fuel prices.
According to him, the government of Denis Shmygal is in a stalemate: on the one hand, it seeks to prevent the growth of protests, on the other hand, it expects to continue cooperation with the creditor.
“Without IMF money this year, Ukraine can declare a default.
And if the conditions of the fund are met, then millions of people can take to the streets.
Obviously, the cabinet of ministers will try to pass the heating season with low gas prices, and then continue negotiations with the IMF.
But whether the fund will agree to such conditions is a big question, "says a source in Batkivshchyna.
In a commentary to RT, Mikhail Krivoguz, a leading researcher at IMEMO RAS, said that in the current economic situation, a break in relations with the IMF would result in a significant increase in Ukraine's budget deficit.
Therefore, according to the expert's forecast, Kiev, if pressure is exerted on it by the fund, will make concessions to the lender on the tariff issue.
“The constant increase in tariffs in Ukraine is caused primarily by the demand of the IMF.
This process is a guarantee of continued cooperation, in which the Kiev authorities see the only way to overcome the current crisis.
The protests of the population have not yet reached the scale of the Maidan, and therefore the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine will not yet begin to reduce prices for gas and communal services to an acceptable level for citizens, ”concluded Krivoguz.