Gas Monopoly Begs Government Not to Sell Grid Operator
Eesti Gaas - the nation's gas monopoly, in which Russia's Gazprom has a 37 percent stake - opposes the government's plan to separate the gas distribution grid from its parent.
The gas firm said the distribution grid should remain, as currently, an independent operator under the ownership of Eesti Gaas.
But the Ministry of Economic Affairs believes the grid operator, EG Võrguteenus, which was established as independent entity in 2006, needs to find a new owner, just as Elering was once separated from Eesti Energia, reported ETV.
The gas monopoly said Estonia, in meeting requirements of an EU directive, and fearing the influence of Gazprom, has resorted to the road most harmful to consumers. The EU directive, Eesti Gaas said, could be satisfied by a simple reorganization of company leadership.
"Third parties would participate in the company's leadership. The company would not make its decisions based upon the wishes of Gazprom, but upon the company's development needs and the dynamic of the Estonian gas market," said Raul Kotov, a managing member of Eesti Gaas.
In September, the European Commission launched an investigation in 10 countries into EU companies that buy gas from the Russian Gazprom in attempt to find evidence of violations of EU competition law. The offices of Eesti Gaas were among those searched. In the first quarter of 2010, the cost of natural gas for Baltic countries was 318.2 euros per cubic meter, while many other EU nations paid 265 to 270 euros per cubic meter, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
Ott Tammik