Experts explained why this was necessary » and why it will be difficult to implement this plan
The State Duma recommended returning to long-term planning in the housing and utilities sector. By March 2025, parliamentarians must develop proposals for setting tariffs for utilities for a period of five years, taking into account their annual indexation. This is evidenced by the plan of recommendations on key problems of housing and utilities, prepared by the working group on improving legislative regulation of the State Duma. Why the «powers that be» suddenly decided to return to five-year plans in tariffs and how this initiative will affect the pockets of Russians, «MK» found out from experts.
Deputies want to return to a long-term tariff policy — to set fees for water supply, electricity, garbage collection and other utilities for five years at once, taking into account their annual indexation. According to Dmitry Osyanin, associate professor of the basic department of financial control, analysis and audit of the Main Control Department of the City of Moscow at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, this means that the tariffs will be in effect during this period, but they will be adjusted every year taking into account inflation or other factors affecting the cost of providing utilities.
According to the recommendations, the draft federal law should be prepared by March 1. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition Policy are responsible for the document.
Currently, housing and communal services tariffs are regulated by the state. The government sets a «ceiling» for each region (usually at the inflation rate), above which the local administration should not increase tariffs. The FAS monitors compliance with these requirements. At the same time, tariffs are indexed annually from July 1. Currently, rates are planned for 3-5 years, but they are still adjusted annually by several parameters. All this prevents the timely modernization of infrastructure, becomes an obstacle to attracting business representatives to these projects and has a negative impact on the work of resource supplying organizations. With the introduction of long-term tariffs in the housing and communal services sector, it will be easier for investors to calculate their economic benefit. It is for their convenience that deputies want to return to setting tariffs for a five-year period. As the chairman of the «Union of Housing Organizations» Konstantin Krohin recalled, the housing and communal services modernization program is designed for 4.5 trillion rubles, according to the order of the President of the Russian Federation. However, only 1.5 trillion rubles will come from budget sources. The deputies' initiative is intended to answer the question of where the other 3 trillion rubles will come from: they want to attract investors to the industry. However, this will be quite difficult to do, because it will be difficult for them to design financial models under the described conditions. If someone wants to invest in, say, a water utility or generating capacity, they will not be able to say exactly what the tariff for these services will be in five years. In theory, the deputies' proposal is designed to allow investors to do this, but the clause on annual indexation reduces planning opportunities. «Colleagues calculated that the Central Bank of the Russian Federation rate has changed 18 times in a couple of years, so what kind of long-term financial planning can we talk about if our financial situation is unstable?» the expert asks. The authorities' focus on long-term planning is a good trend. However, it is unlikely that anyone will be able to make a forecast that is as close to reality as possible. The school of planning was destroyed after the collapse of the USSR. Now they want to go back, but while many good initiatives sound good, their implementation suffers, noted Krohin.
The transition to a smoother tariff indexation system is also beneficial for the housing and utilities sector, as it allows maintaining the economic efficiency of services and retaining employees. According to Alexander Safonov, professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, attempts to increase housing and utilities tariffs at a slower pace than inflation and in irregular periods only lead to negative consequences. Firstly, in this case, housing and utilities organizations are forced to worsen the quality of services provided and freeze wages, and this affects the provision of human resources. Secondly, subsequent indexation is carried out immediately by a very high percentage. For example, this year, the maximum increase in tariffs in the Zabaikalsky Krai is 15%, in Moscow — 11%, in Tatarstan — from 10 to 15%, depending on the specific region. Such a one-time increase is very sensitive for the population. According to the results of 2023, on average in the Russian Federation, the share of population expenses on housing and utilities was 10%. This initiative will not be able to prevent further growth in the cost of housing and communal services, but will make this growth smoother and more predictable, the scientist is sure.