Transition to netback parity in gas to be smoother
MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) - The transition to netback parity in gas sales on the domestic market and exports will be smoother than previously planned, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on tariffs on Monday.
The transition to 100% netback parity in gas prices for Russian and European consumers was to have been achieved by January 1, 2014. Now, "this will be not 100%, but 55% of the price European consumers pay," he said.
"In conditions of economic crisis, we are moving substantially in the direction of the consumer," Putin said.
The government will continue its policy of indexing tariffs on gas for industry, he said.
"The price of gas for private consumers will be significantly lower than for industrial enterprises, in contrast with Europe, where gas prices are higher for citizens than for economically active institutions. And we will definitely maintain this policy for the next several years," Putin said.
Even taking into account earlier announced plans for transition to netback parity in 2011, gas prices for the population would be lower than for industry, Putin said.