BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 30
Trend:
The Azerbaijani Tariff Council held a meeting on June 30, 2021, Trend reports citing the Council on June 30.
The appeal of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) was considered and a corresponding decision was made during the meeting.
The decision envisages the following issues:
- the tariff for natural gas which is supplied to the industrial and agricultural areas has not been changed and is kept at the level of 0.20 qepik (0.11 cents);
- to prevent an increase in the price of electricity, the tariff for natural gas which is supplied to the power plants was increased by only 1 qepik - from 0.12 qepik (0.07 cents) to 0.13 qepik (0.08 cents);
- the natural gas tariff for Azeristiliktechizat OJSC, an Azerbaijani heating supply operator, and boiler houses of residential buildings has been reduced from 0.20 qepik (0.11 cents) to 0.13 qepik (0.07 cents);
- the gas tariff has been changed from 0.20 qepik (0.11 cents) to 0.25 qepik (0.14 cents) in other spheres;
- taking into account the socially oriented policy pursued in the country and social protection of the low-income layers of the population, the tariff of up to 1,200 cubic meters (including 1,200 cubic meters) of annual gas consumption for the population has not been changed and is kept at the level of 0.10 qepik (0.05 cents) per cubic meter;
- the tariff has been set at 0.20 qepik (0.11 cents), over 2,500 cubic meters – 0.25 qepik (0.14 cents) for an annual consumer volume of 1,200–2,500 cubic meters (including 2,500 cubic meters);
- to stimulate the transition to environmentally friendly fuel, the tariff for gas which is supplied to the gas filling stations selling compressed gas (CNG) has been reduced from 0.20 qepik (0.11 cents) to 0.13 qepik (0.07 cents);
The decision will come into force on July 1, 2021.
Taking into account the decrease in the income of the population during the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of consumption for the population was increased from 1,300 cubic meters to 1,600 cubic meters for each subscriber.
This led to an increase in the loss and this amount was repaid at the expense of the state budget.
The decision on the recent tariff regulation of the gas price was made on November 28, 2016 and came into force in December of the same year. Over the past period, the price of natural gas in the country has not been changed.
When the recent tariff regulation of gas prices for the population came into force in 2017, the average monthly wage in Azerbaijan was 528.5 manat ($310.9). Over the past period, the average monthly wage increased by 35 percent and as of April 1, 2021, amounted to 713.2 manat ($419.5).