The necessary indexation of tariffs for services will reduce the volume of lost income in the housing and communal services industry, I told FBA “economy today” expert on housing legislation of the Russian Federation, specialist in municipal law, local government organizations Igor Kokin.
Early July 2020 led to an increase in tariffs for housing and communal services in the Russian Federation. Expected, that price indexation in the country will be approximately 4%, however, in each of the regions of the country, the authorities will establish their own maximum allowable index.
The smallest increase in tariffs awaits residents of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, which will not exceed 2,4%. Rising prices for 3% will occur in the Perm Territory and the Murmansk Region, and indexing on 3,6% will affect other regions, including Astrakhan, Vologda, Kaluga, Ryazan, Bryansk, Ivanovskaya, Kursk, Penza, Leningrad, Yaroslavl and Tver regions.
“The pandemic of coronavirus infection in the world could not stop the provision of housing and communal services as physical, and legal entities, forced to continue activities within the framework of quarantine measures. That is, the industry did not stop - people received resources and were provided with light., water, warmth and other benefits.
Besides, all employees, employed in the housing and communal sector continued to continuously provide services and monitor the comfortable living of people in their homes. This was noted during one of the speeches and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, declared, that we managed to get through the epidemic without colossal problems, including in the housing and communal sector ", – expert says.
In the central part of the Russian Federation, the indexation percentage will be slightly higher. for example, in St. Petersburg, tariffs will increase by 3,8%, in the Moscow Region and Krasnodar Territory, the increase will be 4,1%. A noticeable increase in the cost of housing and communal services will affect Moscow residents, Omsk region, Buryatia, as well as Yakutia, where tariffs will rise by 5%. In Dagestan, we will see growth in 5,2%, and in Kabardino-Balkaria - on 5,4%. In Chechnya, services will rise in price by 6,5%.
Is it possible to freeze tariffs instead of indexing
Earlier, the Governor of the Stavropol Territory, Vladimir Vladimirov, during a meeting of "United Russia" made a proposal not to raise the price of housing and communal services this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. A similar idea was voiced in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry., where the indexation was proposed to be moved to the next year. Head of Stavropol, in its turn, called on the authorities to suspend the, limiting prepayment for housing and communal services, since state-owned enterprises are able to pay utility bills for six months in advance.
“Ideas about freezing tariffs for housing and communal services are being heard everywhere, but no one offers to stop the rise in bread prices, for gasoline or other popular goods and services. For, to understand, why it is impossible to leave the housing and communal services industry without increasing tariffs, It is important to know, what is its structure and the production of utility resources - is it electricity, water, gas, heating.
The production of utilities is the same area of the Russian economy, like any other. She is, as a production system, consumes a huge amount of resources, implies spending on maintenance and repair of millions of kilometers of various engineering networks, as well as spending on paying salaries to people, employed in it ", – explains the interlocutor of the agency.
Therefore, every proposal to freeze or reduce tariffs, sure Igor Kokin, can turn into a collapse of all enterprises, involved in the production of housing services and utilities. In this regard, the Russian government did not consider such ideas as a measure to support Russians during a pandemic., but introduced a moratorium on the accrual and collection of penalties for debts for housing and communal services, which will be relevant up to 1 January 2021 years and will allow the population, not to pay suppliers and management organizations. Besides, According to the expert, Russians can reduce spending on housing and communal services and resources by installing individual water meters, electricity and heat. Timely payment of receipts will also help to avoid unnecessary charges.
If there is no indexation of tariffs, declared in the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation, then the industry will immediately lose more 300 billion rubles only for heat and water.
"Money, which Russians pay for the resources received and the services provided to them go to the maintenance of personnel, premises, maintaining the operability of all necessary systems and engineering infrastructure. The main reason for the inappropriateness of maintaining all tariffs at the same level is, As for 70% in the field of production of communal resources is now occupied by electricity and gas.
Considering that, that the Russian government did not freeze tariffs on these resources, freezing prices for other services would simply lead to, that the industry would face colossal losses and subsequent bankruptcies. So if we want, for the sphere to work, then for this she needs to be given the necessary opportunities in the form of financial support ", – He stated the expert.
Alexander Melnik
