Gazprom says gas supplies will continue in full through cold spell
14:38 | 18/ 01/ 2006
MOSCOW, January 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russian energy giant Gazprom will continue natural gas supplies to consumers without interruption and on time during a cold snap that has sent temperatures plummeting across the country, a company spokesman said Wednesday.
"Natural gas supplies to consumers in Russia will be provided in full and in strict compliance with contracts," Sergei Kupriyanov said on national TV, commenting on a statement made by Anatoly Chubais, the chief executive of electricity giant Unified Energy System.
Chubais had said earlier Wednesday that the electricity distribution situation in Moscow was extremely complex, and had been additionally complicated by reduced gas supplies as of Tuesday.
Gazprom is drawing gas from its underground storage facilities at almost the maximum rate, the spokesman said.
Industrial consumers should also use alternative fuel sources during the cold period, Kupriyanov said.
"This is a strained situation, but we are fully ready to supply gas according to schedule to industrial consumers, the population, and communal services," he said.
Weather forecasters have said the cold spell, which hit Moscow Monday night, was expected to last several days, with temperatures in the capital alone dropping to as low as minus 34 degrees Celsius (-29.2° Fahrenheit) by the end of the week.
With the average for Moscow temperatures in January standing between -16°C and -9°C, the severe weather this January has already claimed the lives of two people in Moscow.
The sudden freeze came on the back of several days of relatively mild weather, with temperatures hovering only just below zero degrees Celsius.
Moscow regional utility Mosenergo also said in a statement that it had stocked up on fuel and was well equipped to deal with the dip in temperatures. |
