According to the recent media research the public company Srbijagas, gas importer and distributor utility, makes a truly huge loss because of gas imported through intermediary companies – Jugorosgas. Failure of the competent institutions, either accidentally or deliberately, have resulted that this public company procured from intermediate firm fuel at a higher price, and then sold it to the same company at lower price, which was tolerated by the last three Serbian governments.
Jugorosgas, intermediary company from which Srbijagas buys almost the entire amount of gas for industry and citizens in Serbia, is also the owner of the main gas pipeline from Pojate to Nis and gas distributor in southern Serbia.
According to the research of the Insider media, this led to the absurd situation, because the intermediary company Jugorogas sells fuel to Srbijagas at the Ukrainian-Hungarian border at one price, and then, as a distributor in southern Serbia, in Pojate buys again from Srbijagas at a lower price.
In this business Jugorosgas benefits because the government limited the price at which Srbijagas sells in the country, in order to preserve social peace.
Insider calculated how much Srbijagas lost in just one year because of this trade, on the basis of data collected by the Agency for Energy and the report of the state auditor.
Srbijagas was buying gas from Jugorosgas at a price of 456 dollars per thousand cubic meters in 2011. This same gas Jugorosgas was selling again at a price of 430 dollars. For every thousand cubic meters, Srbijagas in this trade was losing 26 dollars. Since Jugorosgas purchased from Srbijagas 40.2 million cubic meters in 2011, only that year Srbijagas lost more than a million dollars in this way. When you add the cost of transport through Hungary from 46.5 dollars per thousand cubic meters, which Srbijagas also pays, the total loss of the company to trade with Jugorosgas amounted to more than three million dollars.
B92: It is not clear how Energy Agency can tolerate a situation where practically occurs trade to the detriment, not only of Srbijagas but also of the citizens of Serbia, because Srbijagas loses money, and people will eventually pay for that?
Ljiljana Hadzibabic Energy Agency: Look, people are not left only to the Agency, which means that in our law jurisdiction of the state, or government, or the ministry responsible for energy and agencies, is very clearly defined.
B92: Yes, but can we at least recognize that this situation is not normal.
Hadzibabic: Abnormal situation is if you’re buying more expensive than you sell. It is universally abnormal situation.
Source; Serbia Energy
