- Статьи
- Economy
- Capacity science: authorities will recalculate and register all gas cylinders in the country
Capacity science: authorities will recalculate and register all gas cylinders in the country
A unified digital database for gas cylinders should appear in Russia, their labeling should be introduced, and a self-regulatory organization (SRO) should be established to control the turnover of this equipment in the country. Such initiatives of the State Duma were supported by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry also advocates the creation of a control system. However, they believe that supervision should be carried out by a public-private partnership, in which businesses will bear the costs of developing and implementing a unified digital accounting system, and the state will participate in creating a legal framework. Experts note that uncontrolled turnover of cylinders poses a threat and is the cause of serious accidents. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
Register of gas cylinders
The Ministry of Energy has supported the proposals of the State Duma Committee on Energy to create a unified digital accounting system for produced, sold and disposed gas cylinders in Russia, as well as their labeling. Izvestia has reviewed a letter from the head of the department, Sergei Tsivilev, to the chairman of the committee, Nikolai Shulginov.
Also, one of the possible options for ensuring safety, according to the Ministry of Energy, may be the creation of an SRO in the field of gas cylinder turnover control.
"For these purposes, it will be necessary to determine the main functions of the SRO to control the turnover of gas cylinders. First of all, it is necessary to prepare a financial and economic justification, the introduction of self-regulation of the turnover of cylinders with liquefied petroleum gas with an impact on its final price and contents for consumers," the document says.
According to Yuri Stankevich, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, there is practically no effective control system in Russia for the production, turnover, technical condition and disposal of cylinders. The committee sent its proposals to the government two years ago, he added.
— The problem is large-scale: according to available estimates, there are now more than 50 million cylinders in hand, three quarters of which have exhausted their resources and are in inadequate condition. In addition to metal products, equipment made of composite materials is appearing on the market, which is actively sold at retail and through marketplaces. A random check shows that the imported cylinders, in particular from Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, do not meet the requirements for safety and reliability. At the same time, manufacturers are given certificates without analyzing documents (including test reports of cylinders) and without an objective analysis of production technology," the deputy noted.
According to a review by the Gas Vector company, if in 2013 17 people died and 122 were injured due to gas cylinder explosions, then in 2022 these figures increased to 149 and 1237, respectively. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) told Izvestia that in comparison with 2012, the number of emergencies increased 8.5 times. In 2024, 488 emergencies occurred, 72 explosions occurred in apartment buildings.
Control over the turnover of gas cylinders
The State Duma believes that insufficient regulation and lack of supervision by government agencies leads to uncontrolled turnover of gas equipment, which poses a threat to the safety of people and the environment, and the operation of transport. This causes serious accidents. In Russia, there is no single database on the number of cylinders produced, sold and disposed of. Another problem is the insufficient supervision of their quality.
Andrey Shirokov, Chairman of the CCI Committee on entrepreneurship in the field of housing and communal services, said that the organization has been dealing with this issue for eight years.
— The idea of creating a unified digital system for accounting for gas cylinders was born and has been coming from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 2017. The fact that this idea was supported by the Ministry of Energy, albeit with a delay, is extremely positive," he said.
However, according to him, the CCI has a discrepancy with the ministry's position on the scheme of implementation of this proposal. The chamber sees a solution to this issue in the creation of a public-private partnership, in which businesses will bear the costs of developing and implementing a unified digital accounting system, and the state should participate in creating a legal framework for its functioning.
— Our principled position is that the issue of supervision over the turnover and movement of explosive cylinders should be carried out by the state in the person of one of the relevant departments. Gas, traumatic, and hunting weapons are under state control. Automobile and motor transport — sources of increased danger are also under state supervision. Why should tens of millions of gas cylinders be accounted for by a public organization in the form of an SRO? Professional market participants do not understand this," emphasized Andrey Shirokov.
According to him, today there is a situation in which none of the departments controls and is not eager to take responsibility for the condition and accounting, which leads to a significant increase in the number of emergencies with gas cylinders.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has specific proposals for the implementation of this project, which have been repeatedly sent to the Russian government, he added.
— CCI experts have developed and have been successfully using a digital gas cylinder accounting program at some enterprises for more than six years. It has shown its effectiveness: it provides correct accounting of equipment movement and monitoring of technical condition. In addition, it has received approval from the professional and expert community, Rostechnadzor, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This program is already ready to become the basis for its scaling in the Russian Federation," said Andrey Shirokov.
According to him, all gas cylinders, both new and old, will be entered in the register.
"Consumers will arrive at the refueling station and there they will be entered into the database," he explained.
Izvestia sent inquiries to Rosneft, NOVATEK, Gazprom, Tvergazservice, Ural Plant of Gas and Fire Protection Equipment, Gazserviskomposite Company, Industrial Gases Plant, Kotlas Electromechanical Plant.
The problem may worsen.
The State Duma believes that one of the main advantages of self—regulation over state administration is a more flexible and rapid response to changes in the industry.
"In addition, self—regulation makes it possible to avoid administrative procedures and reduce the cost of obtaining permits and certifications in terms of increasing the fleet of vehicles using gas as a motor fuel," says the letter from the head of the Ministry of Energy Sergey Tsivilev.
According to Yuri Stankevich, the government has not yet decided on its position.
— The authority to control the production and turnover of cylinders is being blurred between at least three departments: the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Rostechnadzor. Seven nannies have a child without an eye," he noted.
Pavel Zavalny, the head of the Russian Gas Society and first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, also noted in a conversation with Izvestia that the government was not yet resolving this issue. The Ministry of Energy and the office of Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak did not respond to a request from Izvestia.
Ekaterina Kosareva, Managing Partner of VMT Consult, believes that sooner or later this issue will be resolved.
— Our consumption of gas engine fuel (GMT) in the country is growing. And it is not surprising that in the absence of control over the equipment, the number of incidents related to them increases. Since the Ministry of Energy has supported this issue, the main thing is not to put it on the back burner, especially since more and more consumers will switch to gas and the problem may worsen, she believes.
According to the Concept of the development of the gas engine fuel market in the Russian Federation until 2035, its consumption will grow to 15.4 billion cubic meters per year. The total fleet of cars at GMT should grow from 316.5 thousand. In 2023, it will reach more than 1.3 million units by 2035.
In turn, Dmitry Gusev, deputy chairman of the supervisory Board of the Reliable Partner Association, believes that an accounting system is really necessary, but a self-regulatory organization can introduce a corruption component.
"The creation of a unified system is the right idea from the point of view of the safety of citizens. I doubt that it will affect the final cost of the product. Cylinders are exchangeable goods, their validity period is 20-30 years. But I don't think we need a self-regulatory organization to monitor them. Because every manufacturer, company that sells and buys gas, must monitor the condition of the cylinders and enter the data in the register. And the creation of SRO can increase the corruption component," he believes.
According to Ekaterina Kosareva, no matter what decision the government makes — whether the PPP will control the turnover of cylinders or SRO — first you need to create a unified accounting database.
It is thanks to such a database that it will be possible to track the technical condition of the equipment: when, how and by whom repairs or technical inspections were carried out. Accordingly, this will increase the level of responsibility, which will lead to a reduction in accidents and deaths, she concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
