Rating gas tariffs to allow state getting rid of rich privileged consumers

Controversy around tariffs for gas is a bright indicator of inconsistencies, which the national energy economy is faced, Chairman of the national joint-stock company "NaftoGaz Ukrainy" Oleksiy Ivchenko said in Lviv.
According to him, prices for gas should be increased for all citizens. But this unpopular measure won't hit the budget of ordinary citizens. As even 25-percent rise in price will equal 5 to 6 hryvnias for an average family. At the same time, owners of elite cottages, who heat thousands of square meters with gas and are, practically, subsided by the state, will have to pay a tidy sum. The same story is about industrial enterprises, which due to cheap gas enjoyed vast opportunities of super-profits, which were used for transferring in off-shore zones or for mass purchasing immovable property or land plots. There are many such examples, Oleksiy Ivchenko noted, citing the Mariupol Metallurgical Plant, which instead of production modernization and introduction of energy-saving technologies, to which end the state allotted big sums of money, bought up hectares of surrounding lands, having acquired the agricultural status. As NaftoGaz Ukrainy chief believes, higher prices for gas will allow accumulate consumer's means and to increase budgetary revenues. There is also another important moment, the NaftoGaz Ukrainy is now focusing on developing oil and gas fields in the shelves of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, which would allow to boost the national resources, together with other fields in the Poltava, Donetsk regions and in Transcarpathia.