Tariff growth in line with inflation could cost Gazprom 73 bln rubles in 2012
MOSCOW. May 12 (Interfax) - Keeping natural monopoly tariff growth in line with inflation could cost Gazprom 73 billion rubles in lost revenue in 2012, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina told reporters.
Russian Railways (RZD) stands to lose an estimated 18 billion rubles, she said.
These are the estimated losses for the companies if tariff growth in 2012 is restricted to 6%, the upper range of the inflation forecast, instead of the 15% cap for Gazprom and 7.4% for RZD, Nabiullina said. She said calculations for 2013 and 2014 would be ready by the middle of June.
"Our main concern is how this will affect their investment programs," Nabiullina said regarding the potential losses to be incurred by Gazprom and RZD.
"We wouldn't like this reduction to result in a mechanical reduction of the investment program. We'd like it to result in higher efficiency, but other mechanisms are needed for this. So we need not just estimates but mechanisms, and we can then translate this sort of reduction into higher efficiency and not the mechanical reduction of investment programs, maintenance and so on," she said.
Asked how the monopolies might offset their losses, Nabiullina said "in my view this could apply to RZD, as the infrastructure element is subsidized in many countries."
"We've said for a long time that we need a regulatory contract between the state and the company, whereby the company undertakes to provide certain infrastructure services and the state commitments of its own, possibly even to subsidize infrastructure. Because if we build all infrastructure and its development into the tariff they we get very hefty costs. This is to all intents and purposes public infrastructure. This is being discussed as an initiative, but a decision has not yet been reached s there are budgetary restrictions, among others," Nabiullina said.
