New gas price: the government promises to help Transcarpathians with this problem

The difficult negotiations with the IMF have finished with a compromise. Their result was an agreement that, instead of 60%, the price of gas would increase only by 23.5% – that is two and a half times less than it could have been. In addition, the government assures: along with the increase in the gas price, the Cabinet enhances social protection of people and expands the programs of house insulation.

As of November 1, the price of gas for the population will increase by 23.5% and will amount to UAH 8,500 per one thousand cubic meters. This decision was a compromise in the long negotiation process between the Government and the International Monetary Fund. For its part, the IMF has provided Ukraine with access to stand-by funding in amount of almost $ 4 billion.

The International Monetary Fund demanded to raise the price of gas for the population by 60% – up to UAH 11,500 per one thousand cubic meters (the average bill for utilities in Kyiv region would instantly increase by 1-1.5 thousand hryvnias). This is the price of gas for industrial consumers.

Their argument is that different gas prices are a source of corruption, since it is virtually impossible to prevent a situation where the gas intended for household needs at a low price is used for the needs of the owners of large enterprises. The Ukrainian government has achieved almost a three-fold reduction of this number.