A Chechen court has ordered Russian gas giant Gazprom to write off 9 billion rubles ($135.6 million) of gas debt in the restive North Caucasus republic this week after prosecutors warned of rising "social tensions."

Reports say that unpaid debts on utility bills are a widespread problem in Chechnya’s capital of Grozny, with an estimated 35 percent of residents failing to pay their electricity bills, according to the mayor’s office, which has led to more than a year of raids and mass blackouts. Gazprom said that the overall debt of Chechen gas consumers was 14.4 billion rubles as of Jan. 1, 2018.

