“Each consumer has the right to apply for secondary gasification”

Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Pavel Sorokin on providing the population and business with energy

From March 1, 2023, the social gasification program has become indefinite. Previously, it was assumed that this program, under which private houses are additionally gasified, will end on January 1, 2023. But the deadlines have been canceled, and now the application can be submitted at any time. Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Pavel Sorokin told how to use the social gasification program.

– In order to improve the quality of life in the private sector (in towns, villages), social gasification continues in Russia. Tell us what results have already been achieved?

– The program was launched at the initiative of the head of state. Over the past year, communications were brought to about half a million homes, and now it has become indefinite. It turns out that even more people will be able to bring gas to their sites for free. We have also expanded this program to schools, kindergartens, and hospitals.

At the moment, more than 1 million 200 thousand applications for secondary gasification have been received, more than 800 thousand contracts have been concluded, almost 550 thousand of them have already been executed.

– The numbers are impressive. Order fulfillment has improved significantly. Is there a rating of regions in terms of aftergasification?

– Yes. The leaders are the Orenburg region, the Chechen Republic, the Lipetsk region, the Republic of Mari El, the Volgograd region, Kalmykia, the Moscow, Vladimir, Tambov and Kirov regions. At the same time, the rating takes into account many indicators, including the speed of the GDO’s response to applications, the timeliness of the implementation of agreements, and other indicators.

– For a number of categories of citizens, social support measures have been introduced – subsidies for work within the boundaries of land plots and for the purchase of gas equipment. Where exactly do consumers direct this assistance?

– Additional social support measures were taken to compensate citizens’ expenses for connecting to gas. The amount of funds allocated for these purposes last year exceeded 2.5 billion rubles, about 30 thousand households were supported.

An analysis of the areas of use of support measures shows that about 70% of subsidies are spent on the purchase and installation of gas-using equipment, and 30% on the construction of gas distribution networks within the site. At the federal level, a list of certain categories of citizens for whom the minimum subsidy for the purchase and installation of equipment, as well as for work within the boundaries of land plots, is 100 thousand rubles. We are talking about war invalids, participants in the Great Patriotic War, veterans of military operations, family members of the dead, families with many children, low-income citizens, incl. and poor families with children.

In addition, some regions additionally help about 20 more categories of citizens from their regional budgets, and the Leningrad Region, Perm Territory and Sakhalin Region provide benefits in general to all citizens living in the territory of these constituent entities of the Russian Federation.