A Russian speaking directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone showed a question on the screen asking why gasoline was becoming more expensive but lighters were not. Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst of the National Energy Security Foundation (FNEB), explained to socialbites.ca that lighters use a propane-butane mixture, the price of which is not comparable to the cost of household gas.
“Lighters contain liquefied petroleum gas. It’s not the methane that flows through our pipes into our apartments or the gas we export through pipelines. There is methane in the pipes and a propane-butane mixture in the lighters. This is a little different, this is an oil refining product, not a product produced at Gazprom or Novatek fields. First, different gases. Second, even this propane-butane mixture is not particularly expensive. There was a boom in the summer months; Like all fuels, its price has increased slightly. Now the prices are the same as at the beginning of the year. So it’s actually not that expensive, at least cheaper than gasoline and diesel. It’s a little bit lighter, so there’s no such dynamic. The good thing is that when we talk about an increase in gas prices in Russia, this usually means an increase in tariffs. Therefore, some kind of foreign exchange price is out of the question. Propane-butane is traded on the stock exchange and has a free price. And when the public buys gas from the pipeline, tariffs are imposed. Tariffs include delivery costs, repair of all types of gas equipment, etc. “It is included,” he said.
Yushkov noted that lighters are becoming more expensive, but “rarely.” The expert also suggested that a cubic meter of gas coming from lighters could cost even more than a cubic meter of gas coming from a pipeline.
“I think lighters are getting more expensive from time to time. Only relatively speaking, its cost is 10-20 rubles, and each ruble is a lot in percentage terms. Therefore they may become more expensive, but rarely. So these are completely different things, different goods and different prices – there are tariffs, and here are the usual market prices. You cannot compare. We can compare lighters to these red cylinders. If you live in a rural area, refill cylinders, have cylinder gas, you can somehow compare. It is not comparable to pipeline main gas. If we buy one cubic meter of gas from lighters, I think it will be more expensive than the cubic meter of gas we buy from pipelines. “So it depends on how you look at it,” he added.
On December 14, the “Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin” press conference takes place live. As Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov had previously said, Putin had been preparing for the event since the evening of December 12.
The questions asked by the Russians during the direct meeting with the President are broadcast on the screens in the hall. Along with the question about the increase in gasoline prices, the president was asked the following question: “Why was Chubais allowed to flee abroad?” and “When will the real Russia be no different from television?”
All calls received from Russians on the direct line of the President of the Russian Federation will be processed by representatives of the All-Russian Popular Front (ONF).
“socialbites.ca” potential customers text broadcast of the event.
Putin before she made a joke About the Ministry of Finance during the direct line.