The Ministry of Energy supported the creation of a unified digital database for 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 manufactured, 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.

According to Yuri Stankevich, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, it is estimated that more than 50 million cylinders are now "in hand", three quarters of which have exhausted their resources and are in inadequate condition.

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.

Andrey Shirokov, Chairman of the CCI Committee on entrepreneurship in the field of housing and communal services, noted that the idea of creating a unified digital system for accounting for gas cylinders was born and has been coming from the CCI 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.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Capacity science: authorities will recalculate and register all gas cylinders in the country