The authorities, meanwhile, justify the rise in value primarily by the inflation rate. The Ministry of Economic Development claims that tariffs will grow, but not critical: plus 4% is the maximum. The Federal Antimonopoly Service believes that the increase will be no more than 3.3%. All these figures seem to be within the framework of average inflation. But for some reason, the departments omit the fact that the limit values for tariff increases differ by region.
Every year on July 1, consumers are forced to optimize their expenses: a communal apartment requires more and more funds, and nothing can be done about it. Water supply, heating, electricity, gas, garbage disposal and other benefits of modern civilization are indexed in accordance with approved standards, the formation of which experts of the municipal market still have many questions.
So, since July 2021, tariffs for housing and communal services have been raised in accordance with a government order adopted on October 30 last year. Payment index values differ by region. In particular, for Moscow it is determined at the level of 4.6%, for the Moscow region – 3.6%, and for St. Petersburg – 3.5%.
The increase in tariffs should not outpace overall inflation, the authorities emphasize. In general, the requirement is met. Although recently, the cost of paying for housing (5.1%), water disposal (4.5%), water supply (hot water – 4.3%), electricity supply (4.1%) have grown at a faster pace.
At the same time, as calculated by FinExpertiza, by the end of 2020 in 15 constituent entities of the Federation (or almost in one fifth of Russian regions), the growth in housing and utilities tariffs outstripped the average inflation in the country (4.9%). The leaders in the rise in the cost of communal apartments were the Komi Republic, where, due to the increase in prices for overhaul, housing and communal services tariffs immediately outstripped inflation (an increase of 16.2%), the Voronezh region (7.8%), the Trans-Baikal Territory (7.1%) , Kemerovo region (6.7%) and Udmurtia (6.6%).
Annual changes in utility tariffs are inevitable. The rise in price is primarily due to an increase in the cost of resources used by housing units, explains Mark Goykhman, chief analyst at TeleTrade.
It turns out that the increase in the cost of operating organizations due to inflation is covered by users. Utilities claim that without this they will not be able to provide services, maintain the network in proper condition, which is fraught with risks of losses, breakdowns, accidents. “Thus, it turns out that utilities have no incentive to reduce these costs and losses,” the expert notes. “Water leaks from a faucet in the basement or heat leaks due to poor thermal insulation of pipes in winter are often easier to cover with higher consumer payments than to fix.”
At the same time, it is completely impossible to explain why in some cities of one region a possible increase in tariffs is established several times higher than the average for a given territory (as, for example, in Vyksa 8.6% and Chkalovsk 14.9% – with an average the level of tariff growth established in the Nizhny Novgorod region at 4%). The prosecutor’s office is dealing with such cases: inspections in 11 regions have already shown the illegal inclusion of such expenses as bonuses for top managers in the growth of tariffs, says Natalya Chernysheva, a specialist in housing and communal services, director of the People’s Control Organization.
“On average, inflation and, accordingly, tariff growth were announced for 2021 at the level of 4%, however, in the regions, tariff growth varies from 2.4% to 6.5%. It is difficult to say by how much the bills will increase on average, since tariffs for different types of services can increase in different ways. For example, somewhere for electricity more than water or gas. And if residents spend more electricity and do not use gas, then this increase will be more reflected in their accounts, ”she said in a conversation with MK.
Since only the limit value of the growth of tariffs is set on average for the region, the specific figures for the growth of tariffs for various services will depend on negotiations with specific resource supplying organizations, Chernysheva notes. Note that resource workers often try to explain the increase in the amount by the need for repairs or modernization of networks.
Housing and communal services for many Russians continue to be a burdensome item of expenditure, says Elena Trubnikova, head of FinExpertiza. According to her, more than 5% of households have difficulties with paying for communal services, and among single-parent and large families – over 10%.
“The topic of housing and communal services has become even more topical during the pandemic crisis, which resulted in a serious drop in the population’s income. Depending on the region, and sometimes even within the boundaries of one city, the amount of payment for housing and communal services can vary significantly, and many residents see for this not objective economic reasons, but the interests of public utilities and resource supplying organizations, ”says Trubnikova.
“The indexation of housing and communal services tariffs cannot be considered justified without a full-fledged audit, since only such an audit can show what we have to pay for and how much,” Natalya Chernysheva is convinced. According to her, various experts call different figures for overstating tariffs – 4-5 times, 30%, 50%, etc. The exact answer to the question of how fair the tariffs are, could only be given by their full-scale audit, which experts have been talking about for several years. But the authorities do not take such a step, simply raising tariffs annually in July, on average, “by eye”, for inflation.
“If we do not understand exactly how the base figures are calculated, which are increasing every year, then a moratorium on their increase should be introduced,” the interlocutor of MK believes.
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