Gas distribution tariff will be limited to UAH 1.79/cubic meter – Gerus
Along with limiting the price of gas to UAH 6.99 per cubic meter, the tariff for gas distribution in Ukraine will also be limited to UAH 1.79/cubic meter, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Andriy Gerus has stated.
"Also, the distribution tariffs, where they were significantly higher than the average one in the country, will be reduced to a level not higher than UAH 1.79/cubic meter," Gerus said on Facebook, referring to the approval of such a decision at a meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
He noted that this, in particular, concerns small regional gas companies such as Lubnygaz, in which economy of scale does not work.
Gerus did not give any other details.
At the same time, he stressed that in conditions of monopolization of markets, government regulation is not only permissible, but often necessary.
At the same time, he expressed conviction that the decisions to limit the price of gas were made exclusively in the interests of consumers, calling the discussed issue of its profitability for the "gas oligarchs" absurd.
"The price of gas on the wholesale market is now UAH 9-11. It can be sold to retail consumers at a price not higher than UAH 6.99. Naturally, the matter does not concern any profits of Firtash (Dmytro, the head of Group DF, which manages gas distribution network operators under the RGC brand) or other oligarchs," the head of the energy committee explained.