In Russia’s Pskov region, the only company delivering bottled gas to households, Pskovtransgaz, said it could stop operating from January 1. Regional officials later reached an agreement with the company, but the episode again showed how strongly local residents depend on a single supplier and on a non-transparent system of budget compensation.
In many parts of the region, homes are still heated with firewood, meals are cooked on stoves, and water is taken from street pumps or wells. Despite years of promises from federal authorities, gasification remains incomplete. A new stage of the program was announced in 2021, but according to the regional administration’s latest report in 2023, only 13% had been completed. Information published on Gazprom’s website says that just three of the planned 46 facilities have been put into operation.
The retail gas price is set by the state, and if the tariff does not cover the supplier’s costs, the region pays subsidies. An anonymous company source said obtaining that compensation is difficult: the gas must be sold first, while reimbursement arrives later and only after flawless reporting and approval from officials.
The supplier’s monopoly gives it leverage to pressure the authorities by threatening to halt deliveries. According to sources familiar with the company’s operations, some gas allocated under social norms based on the number of registered residents may have been diverted from subsidized household consumers to filling stations, where it could be sold at market prices.
Residents say they are used to such crises. One interviewee said that in winter households can still rely on a stove, but by spring, when heating stops, the lack of gas becomes critical. Switching to electric stoves is not a dependable answer either: power outages are frequent in the region, and grid modernization has been delayed because of a lack of funds.
The outlet links the situation not only to regional disputes but also to Gazprom’s broader economic model. Although the company spent years promising to channel revenue into nationwide gasification, even the subsidies for delivering gas cylinders to pensioners in Pskov region are paid from the strained regional budget. According to the regional parliament’s press service, the Pskov region’s budget deficit for 2026 stands at 2.7 billion rubles.