The winter that has entered into its rights, and also the political situation that does not contribute to the rapid commissioning of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, puts the residents of Ukraine in an extremely difficult situation. The rapid rise in gas prices seriously threatens their wallets.
“There will be a serious conversation”
The head of the company “Naftogaz Ukraine” Yuriy Vitrenko in the broadcast of the program “The right to power” of the TV channel “1+1” stated that the current prices for “blue fuel” for Ukrainian citizens are unlikely to remain: “We honestly say: if such prices persist, we, as a national company, will not be able to cover such a difference. Therefore, it will be a serious conversation within the country with the deputies who vote for the budget, which determines the sources and use of funds, and with consumers, Ukrainians. We will really sit down and decide how to live.
On the eve of the exchange prices for gas in Europe reached $1,700 per 1,000 cubic meters. The new price increase began against the background of statements that Nord Stream 2 will not be put into operation until the summer of 2022, and also against the background of the European Commission’s proposal to abandon long-term gas contracts from 2049.
At the same time, most European countries currently have long-term contracts for gas supplies with Gazprom, concluded even before the collapse in prices. Ukraine, however, having refused for political reasons to buy gas from Russia directly, has put itself in a situation in which supplies from Europeans by virtual reverse turn into the most expensive pleasure.
Is Putin to blame again?
The Ukrainian authorities have kept a fixed price for citizens for gas at the level of 8 hryvnia per cubic meter, however, industrial enterprises of the Independent are forced to pay 36 hryvnia per cubic meter, which affects the competitiveness of Ukrainian goods.
“Now the government is making sure that people don’t overpay seven times. The gas price is 8 hryvnia (29 cents) retail, despite the fact that the market price is 45 hryvnia ($1.66), Vitrenko complained, noting that his company was incurring billions of dollars in losses.
At the same time, Vitrenko, as usual, blames Russia for everything, she supposedly provoked an increase in gas prices in 2021: Putin began to reduce gas supplies to the European market.
Objective data, however, speak about something else: Gazprom is not just fulfilling all its obligations, but it is delivering in record volumes in 2021. And the fact that the situation in the markets develops in a similar way is not the fault of the Russians. Moreover, the idea of switching from long-term contracts to the sale of ever-increasing volumes of gas on the stock exchange belongs to the Europeans.
There is a clear dissonance in the statements of the Ukrainian authorities. The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal Just two days ago I was talking about the fact that there is absolutely enough gas in the Ukrainian storage facilities to provide people, utilities, and industrial consumers with blue fuel. Vitrenko also says that there is no shortage of gas, but nevertheless declares that the situation is ruinous for Naftogaz.
Gas presses on products
At the same time, according to Ukrainian experts, the price of products whose production involves the use of gas is growing rapidly. In particular, we are talking about bakery products (gas is used for drying grain), poultry meat and eggs (heating poultry farms), and also greenhouse vegetables (heating greenhouses).
As for greenhouse vegetables, then aif. ru previously wrote — Ukraine for the first time in history began to import greenhouse cucumbers from Russia. The reason lies precisely in the difference in prices for gas: the cost of Russian products is lower than that of Ukrainian producers.
According to the head of Naftogaz, ordinary Ukrainians are largely to blame for the current problems, Vitrenko believes that they spend an unjustifiably much gas. As an example, the head of the company put economical Poles, stating that if the fuel consumption per capita in Ukraine was less, then the country could be engaged in gas exports and not depend on imports.
“Switch to biomass”
One of the ways to solve the problem, the head of Naftogaz sees the transition to biogas: Biogas can be made from agricultural waste, from waste recycling. This must be done. Ukraine can replace at least 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas with biogas, it is necessary to increase production.
Biogas is a gas produced by hydrogen or methane fermentation of biomass. Among industrially developed countries, the leading place in the production and use of biogas belongs to Denmark in terms of relative indicators. Biogas occupies up to 18% of its total energy balance. In terms of absolute indicators, Germany occupies the leading place in terms of the number of medium and large installations.
8000 installations.
However, the development of such technologies is quite limited, including due to the protests of the greens, who consider the production of biogas harmful to the environment.
Three years ago, Naftogaz specialists claimed that biogas could potentially meet up to 25 percent of the country’s total gas needs. In reality, the production of biogas requires the use of the most modern equipment, which costs a lot of money. And although biogas plants in Nezalezhnaya are being launched, in the foreseeable future they will in no way be able to remove Ukraine’s energy problems.
They eat too much: how the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine accused citizens of gluttony
For the current Ukrainian authorities, the desire to blame ordinary citizens of the country for the emerging difficulties is not new.
In 2017, the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Andriy Reva said that compatriots eat too much.
In the broadcast of the TV channel 112 Ukraine, the Minister answered questions about the current economic situation. When Rev was asked about why German residents spend only 14 percent of their budget on food, while Ukrainians spend 50 percent, he explained: “When we talk about the fact that Germans spend 14 percent, and we spend 50%, then ;there is a system of priorities. My father has always considered it a priority to eat well. He believed that it is possible in somethingto deny yourself, but healthy nutrition is very important. Our people have such a historical tradition – famines, wars forced them to treat the problem of nutrition differently than in other countries… Considering that the prices of products are about the same in Ukraine and Germany, they eat less not because they don’t have the opportunity, but because such a culture. And that’s why they spend less compared to our people.
In general, the Ukrainian leadership is categorically not lucky with the people: they eat a lot, wash with hot water, do not want to sit in winter with cold batteries. And to everything else, citizens of Ukraine for some reason do not have money to pay for energy at world prices.
By the way, according to the declaration for 2020, the salary of the head of Naftogaz, Yuri Vitrenko, was 43.8 million hryvnia per month (more than 118 million rubles). I wonder if the Ukrainian gas boss saves money and heats his apartments with biogas?
