Putin Snubs Calls to Hike Gas Price

President Vladimir Putin took his government to task Wednesday for its poor handling of power shortfalls. But he stopped short of acting on the advice of top officials to jack up the price of natural gas to avert a mounting energy crisis.

“If everything had been done as needed, there would be no breakdowns, and people would not suffer,” Putin said at a long-anticipated strategy meeting in the Kremlin.

But, he added, “almost nothing has been done. Thousands of people are now without fuel or electricity.”
Also Wednesday, Gazprom teamed up with smaller gas suppliers to create Russia’s first free exchange market for trading in natural gas. The deals on opening day averaged $60 per 1,000 cubic meters, showing the willingness of consumers to pay more than the state-set price for gas.

Putin’s economic aide, Igor Shuvalov, reiterated that the government was committed to raising prices to stimulate growth among smaller producers of gas, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. But those increases will come only in the next few years.

Moscow Times