Gas without failure: connection of houses and cottages becomes mandatory
The Federation Council considered an important issue of the final stage of the gasification of the regions — the preparation of houses. The senators propose to legislate the obligations of citizens to prepare facilities for connection, as well as strengthen social support measures for low-income categories. The parliament insists on clear rules for connecting gas to households and on social support for beneficiaries. Departments, leading experts and industry representatives helped Izvestia to understand the details and problems of this large-scale initiative.
Preparing houses for gas reception
The social gasification (dogasification) program allows people to connect a gas pipeline to the borders of their land plots for free. At the same time, the laying of gas networks and the installation of gas equipment inside the site itself falls on the owners of the houses, who pay for these works themselves.
Senators recommend obliging citizens to prepare households for gas start-up with free gasification, follows from the resolution of the Federation Council following the results of the parliamentary hour with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev. The Ministry of Energy was also instructed to work out the possibility of supplying dry gasoline gas to meet public utility needs.
Free mass gasification at the expense of the state is a complex technical and organizational process in which homeowners play a key role. Senator Gennady Ordenov, in an interview with Izvestia, stressed the importance of fully equipping households by the time the gas pipeline appeared.
— Gasification of regions requires significant investments, especially in the construction of medium and low pressure networks, — says the legislator. — If the gas pipeline is connected, it must be used immediately, otherwise the funds will be frozen, and the network will have to be serviced without return.
Therefore, according to him, by the time the gas is supplied, households must be fully prepared: they must have an approved project, a place of commissioning, purchased equipment and an installed internal heating infrastructure — this will shorten the connection time and eliminate downtime.
The expert of the direction "Popular Front. Analytics", CEO of the Rating Agency of the Construction Complex (RASK) Fyodor Vylomov notes that the legislators have already provided an algorithm for working with the technological connection in accordance with the "Rules No. 1547", but the responsibility for work inside the site lies with the owners.
— Already, the current rules for connecting to gas distribution networks, approved by a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, contain conditions for preparing the site itself for gasification. They are also duplicated in the form of standard contracts for such work. Resolution No. 1547 explicitly stipulates that work on the site is the applicant's area of responsibility. At his own expense, he performs everything necessary related to the laying of on—site networks, the installation of gas-using equipment, meters, and so on," the expert lists.
Larisa Soldatova, Deputy Dean of the HSE Faculty of Law, agrees that the obligation of citizens to organize work on domestic gas supply is also confirmed in the technical conditions of connection.
— The owner, in accordance with the terms of the connection agreement, independently organizes the construction of gas consumption networks inside the site, builds networks inside the household and installs gas equipment. In accordance with the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, an integral element of the connection is the technical specifications (technical specifications) that are attached to the contract. It is the technical specification that contains information about the applicant's obligations to prepare the gas consumption network and equip it with gas—using equipment," the Izvestia interlocutor points out.
But how do we ensure that the houses are really ready and the connections are not idle? According to Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund, the main difficulties arise when design and installation work must first be carried out at the site, and then equipment must be purchased.
— As part of the pre-gasification program, a problem has emerged: gas networks are supplied free of charge only up to the fence of the site, but the actual connection to the house and the start of gas fall on the shoulders of the owners. To do this, you need to order and pay for a gas pipeline project, perform installation work, buy and install gas equipment — from a meter and a security system to a boiler and heating," he notes.
The cost of these stages, according to Yushkov, can reach hundreds of thousands of rubles, and many refuse to connect not out of reluctance, but because of lack of funds.
Legislators also attach special importance to organizational aspects. Senator and gasification specialist Gennady Ordenov notes that with well-established cooperation with suppliers and regional operators, there will be almost no problems.
— The experience of individual regions shows that with well-established cooperation, organizational problems are minimal. With increasing needs, for example, associated with an increase in the number of residents, modernization of networks is required, and these tasks can be solved in a working manner," the expert comments.
However, the parliamentarian emphasizes, it is important to conduct active information work, systematically coordinating the actions of all parties.
Compensation and subsidies: to whom
For many citizens, especially from low—income and privileged categories of the population, the cost of internal connection is a serious barrier. This is where government support measures come to the rescue.
The press service of the Russian Ministry of Energy explains that, on instructions from the President of the Russian Federation, subsidies of at least 100 thousand rubles are provided for homeownership for veterans, disabled people, large families and the poor in order to compensate for part of the costs of purchasing equipment and carrying out work inside the site. In 2025, the budget provides for financing up to 1 billion rubles for these purposes, and a total of 5.7 billion rubles have been allocated for social support.
According to the Ministry of Energy, as of mid-August 2025, more than 6 thousand social assistance contracts have already been signed, and compensation programs are already operating in 79 regions.
Elena Chernitsyna, Head of the Public Relations Department at Gazprom Gas Distribution Leningrad Region, confirmed in an interview with Izvestia that they were carrying out work on the site at their own expense. In the Leningrad region, for example, there is one of the largest subsidies for gasification, and residents actively use it.
Vadim Vinogradov, Dean of the HSE Faculty of Law, illustrates in detail the cost support and compensation program.
— In accordance with the legislation, the owner pays for the work inside the site, but some regions of the Russian Federation provide preferential categories with compensation in the amount of up to 100% of the cost of the work performed, as well as for the purchase of equipment and installation. Thus, large families, veterans and the disabled receive state aid of up to 100,000 rubles," the expert concluded.
Lawyer Anna Tarasova emphasizes the timeliness of the Federation Council's initiative.
— Regulation of citizens' obligations to prepare households for gas start-up with free gasification helps to increase the efficiency of using state support funds. However, the range of responsibilities will become known only after the approval of the regulatory framework, it is too early to discuss the details," she said.
Technical and infrastructural challenges of pre-gasification programs
The implementation of mass gasification is a complex project, which has both key tasks and regional peculiarities. According to the Ministry of Energy, out of 2.2 million applications, 1.7 million have been accepted, 1.6 million contracts have been concluded, and almost 929 thousand have already connected gas. houses. At the same time, the operational resolution of emerging issues is entrusted to the regional and federal headquarters for gasification under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexei Novak. Izvestia sent a request to the office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Oleg Symbolokov, a leading researcher at the Center for Private Law at the Institute of Legislation under the Government of the Russian Federation, explains that the main infrastructure problem is related to the preparation and implementation of gasification programs where there are no gas distribution networks.
— The decision depends on the order in which the programs are formed and the availability of funding. If the networks are laid, there are usually no problems, and possible delays are associated with a violation of contractual obligations," Oleg Symbokov said.
Izvestia contacted the press service of Gazprom, Novatek and Surgutneftegaz, but had not received any responses at the time of publication.
Expert Fyodor Vylomov adds that the programmatic and legislative alignment of the process should not leave "frozen" homes without connectivity.:
— Both Gazprom and the state are interested in making the investments invested in the construction of the network pay off. Incentive measures with requirements to connect and penalties for downtime are being discussed. To solve the problem, they also offer tariff audits and equipment subsidy programs to simplify the first steps of connection.
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