Gas law to liberalize market

VILNIUS (BNS) - The Lithuanian government has approved a draft law
which is expected to liberalize the country's natural gas market.

The law allows consumers to choose a supplier and, in this respect,
it is more liberal than the existing legislation under which the
state-owned company Lietuvos Dujos is the sole distributor of gas
imported by suppliers.

"Consumers using over 15 million cubic meters of gas per year will be
free to choose their supplier. Later, this list will be expanded by
reducing the minimum consumption requirement," Junevicius told BNS.

The law also sets new pricing principles. It is planned that the
price of gas transported by Lietuvos Dujos alone will be regulated by
the state, whereas the tariff for "free" consumers will not be.

The law has been opposed by Lietuvos Dujos, whose activities will be
more strictly regulated when it takes effect, and major
industrialists, for whom the existing order is more convenient.

The law should come into force on Jan.1. 2002, but Junevicius said
he expected that the parliament would push this date back by a year.