Russia’s federal energy commission on December 28th announced that it will hike domestic natural gas prices for the country’s industrial users by an average of 18 percent beginning on January 20th, 2001, local news agencies reported.
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom had pressed the commission to increase the tariff on industrial users by 30 percent.
The agencies reported that household gas prices would jump by 25 percent beginning March 1st. Domestic gas tariffs were last increased on May 1st, 2000, by 20 percent for industrial users and by 15 percent for domestic households.
The federal energy commission earlier this week said it would also raise wholesale electricity prices by 20 percent beginning January 1st.
Mosenergo, a Moscow regional electricity supplier, said last week that, if this was approved, the company would push for a 30 percent increase in its tariffs.
The federal energy commission also stated on December 28th that it would raise tariffs for pipeline transport of crude to Russian refineries by 32 percent effective January 11th.
The commission said that the price increase also affected supplies to other members of a customs union that includes the former Soviet republics of Belarus, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The tariffs for pipelines to other countries were left unchanged.
