KYIV. Feb 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Gas supply companies believe that the gas consumption limits for consumers without meters approved by the Cabinet of Ministers at the end of January 2019 are groundless and their application would result in misbalancing of the gas supply system by 383 million cubic meters of gas a year, Chairman of the Ukrainian gas market association Denys Senektutov said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday with participation of heads of Kharkivgazzbut, Dnipropetrovskgazzbut and Mykolaivgazzbut. "The question is who will pay for it and at what price," Senektutov said, noting that gas sales companies or gas network operators would have to pay this amount as process gas at a market price of about UAH 15 per cubic meter. The head of the profile association recalled that research on gas consumption rates over the past 10 years was conducted only three times. The latest study carried out UkrNIIinzhproekt LLC in 2015, complementing it in 2018 with accounting data of 512,000 subscribers in multi-apartment buildings equipped with house meters. The obtained data is 6.64 cubic meters per household with a gas stove, which is twice higher than those approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, Senektutov said. According to the association, gas supply companies will challenge the government decision on new limits in court as soon as it is published. As reported, the cassation administrative court of the Supreme Court at the end of November 2018 canceled the action established by decision No. 203 (which was adopted in violation of the regulations) of the Cabinet of Ministers on the limits of natural gas consumption for residential consumers without meters. Instead, the previous decisions (made in government resolution No. 619 dated June 8, 1996, and amended on October 1, 2014) that have the limits set two and three times higher came into force. In the repealed resolution the gas consumption rate was set at 3.3 cubic meters per person for households with a gas stove and centralized hot running water; 5.4 cubic meters - with a gas stove, without centralized hot running water and a water heater; 10.5 cubic meters - with a gas stove and a water heater. Resolution No. 619 that the newly entered into force sets the limits at 9.8 cubic meters, 18.3 cubic meters and 23.6 cubic meters per person, respectively. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on January 31, 2019 retuned the lower limits for gas consumption for households without meters. The new limits are set at 3.29 cubic meters per person for households with a gas stove and centralized hot water supply, 5.39 cubic meters with a gas stove, without centralized hot water supply and a water heater, and 10.49 cubic meters with a gas stove and a water heater. The resolution has not yet been published.