OREANDA-NEWS  The number of rejected gasification applications is decreasing in Russia, this is due to increased awareness among citizens about the rules for submitting documents for receiving services, the government's press service reported following a meeting of the gasification headquarters led by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

The leaders in providing technical opportunities for the social gasification of households have become the Moscow, Sverdlovsk regions and Krasnodar Territory. During the duration of the gasification program, the level of contract delays decreased to 1%, and the number of rejected consumer applications decreased significantly due to increased awareness of citizens about the rules for submitting documents.

According to the Ministry of Energy, as of mid-April, more than 1.65 million applications for pre-gasification were submitted, 1.17 million contracts were concluded, 935 thousand contracts (80% of those concluded) were executed to the boundaries of the plots, more than 554 thousand households were connected to gas supply.

Novak instructed the regional authorities and Gazprom to analyze the complaints received and eliminate their cause, strengthen informing citizens about the possibilities of gasification and reduce the cost of a comprehensive service for bringing gas into the house to a level affordable for families.

"It is necessary to analyze the cost of connecting households to gas in each region in order to eventually reduce the cost of a comprehensive gas supply service to homes. This needs to be dealt with. It is also necessary to solve the problem of servicing private pipelines and increasing the capacity of pipes where there is not enough to supply gas to households that have already been gasified to the borders. The gasification program should not turn into a formality," he stressed.

The Deputy Prime Minister added that the regional authorities should monitor the deadlines for submitting applications to the Ministry of Energy for receiving funds from the budget for providing subsidies to preferential categories of citizens and, together with Gazprom, propose solutions to unify access to state aid for all categories of beneficiaries, regardless of their place of residence in Russia.

Novak instructed to further analyze data on the progress of gasification quarterly.