Don't frost me: new tariffs for regions with low gasification level approved
The Russian government has adopted new measures to support citizens with electric heating. The reason is that such households have a high level of electricity consumption in the winter months, the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) told Izvestia. For the heating season from January to April, the authorities have set higher ranges for those regions where the level of gasification is below 5%. As of today, there are nine "poorly gasified" subjects in Russia, and their gasification level varies from 0% in the Magadan Region to 3.68% in the Amur Region. Due to difficult terrain, considerable distances and consumption volumes that are insignificant in terms of costs, the issue of gasification in some regions of the country remains difficult and requires alternative solutions, experts believe. Whether electricity tariffs will change - in the material "Izvestia".
Who will not pay the increased tariffs
The government has approved seasonal threshold values of differentiated tariff ranges for regions where the level of gasification is less than 5%. Two sources (in the government and the Ministry of Energy) told "Izvestia" that now the level of gasification below 5% is recorded in Murmansk (1.53%), Amur (3.68%), Magadan (0.00%), Irkutsk (2.84%) and Jewish Autonomous Regions (1.50%), in the republics of Tyva (1.95%), Khakassia (0.32%) and Buryatia (0.26%), as well as in the Transbaikal Territory (1.30%). The press service of the Zabaikalye administration confirmed that the region meets these criteria. The region has already introduced differentiation of tariffs for the population according to the volume of consumption, as well as established a social norm of electricity consumption. All other regions of the "list of nine" operate according to a similar scheme. By the way, the FAS itself has not yet announced the list of regions.
Now, according to the new rules for such subjects, consumption ranges will be set with the application of an increasing coefficient of 1.8 during the heating season - from January to April 2025.
- The application of the increasing coefficient will allow to increase the "preferential" range of electricity consumption in these regions during the heating season, - explained the FAS of Russia. - Thus, the maximum value of the first range will be 7020 kWh/month. The maximum value at which the second range will end and the third range will begin is set at 10,800 kWh/month.
Earlier, the Russian government approved the threshold values of electricity consumption volumes for each tariff, which will become effective on January 1, 2025. The adopted document defines the maximum level at which the first range of electricity consumption volumes ends. The approved amount will be no more than 3,900 kWh/month. If the amount of consumed electricity exceeds this figure, subsequent consumption will take place already within the second range. The document approves the maximum level at which the second range of consumption is limited.
The established indicator, at which the third range of electricity consumption will begin, will be no more than 6000 kWh/month.
Konstantin Belosludtsev, an expert of the Public Council under the Russian Ministry of Construction, general director of JSC Roskommunenergo, explained that the establishment of "thresholds" is not tariff regulation, but a fine-tuning of the recently issued government decree.
- The regions had concerns that the boundary conditions between the first and second range would be exceeded when using electric heating," he said. - Therefore, for such a range in regions with low gasification (where electric heating is common) and only for households with electric heating, regulators are allowed to apply a coefficient of 1.8 to the approved consumption value (not necessarily to 3900 kWh/month).
3900 kWh/month corresponds to an approximate load of 5.3 kW assuming 24/7 operation. If such a threshold is increased by a coefficient of 1.8, we get 9.6 kW of similar constant load, explains the expert of the Ministry of Construction.
Now, according to him, for a household with a conventional area of 100 square meters is the volume of 280-300 cubic meters. m. With this volume just can reach 9-10 kW of electric power of heating systems.
- But electric heating actually does not work constantly and not at full capacity, but according to the data from temperature sensors, - specifies a specialized expert. - Usually in the heating period, the load utilization factor of electric heating varies from 40 to 70%. At 70% of 9 kW, we get 6.3 kW, or about 4,600 kWh/month. This is higher than the recent government regulation (up to 3900 kWh/month).
Add to this the other electrical appliances in the house, and then you have just 6000-7000 kWh/month for the preferential tariff, he added.
Why do we need compensation for electric heating costs?
The Association "Community of Energy Consumers" explains that according to calculations made using various methods, the amount of electricity in the first (preferential) range is sufficient for normal household consumption for 3-6 months. So, on average, the ranges are set reasonably on a regional basis. From region to region and from season to season, the level of real household consumption certainly fluctuates.
- We admit that in isolated cases, such as a large, non-gasified house of a large family with many children on full electric heating, a point decision on a different range and/or subsidization of preferential consumption is required, which is in the competence of regional authorities," the association says. - But targeted - only for specific households and only for the heating season.
Andrei Vychuzhanin, General Director of the company Gas Vector, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Entrepreneurship in the Housing and Public Utilities Sector of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, explains that at present the level of gasification in rural areas in Russia does not exceed 40%.
- Logically, if we are talking about real assistance to the population living in non-gasified, primarily rural, areas, we should be talking about assistance to much larger segments of the population," says the CCI specialist.
Vychuzhanin notes that nowadays the overwhelming number of existing house power grids are not designed for increased heating loads.
- And if there are funds in the budget to compensate the population for the cost of electricity, why are there not funds to compensate the cost and pre-gasification of hard-to-reach and remote regions with alternative types of gases, primarily liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)," says the CCI expert. - The cost of gasification using collective, group LPG installations is several times cheaper for the budget than laying gas networks.
Why tariffs will not change after all
Igor Kolesnikov, Project Manager of the Urban Economy Department of the Institute of Urban Economics, explained that electricity tariffs will not change. The population and equated categories of consumers will still pay the tariffs of the first range, if they do not exceed the amount of consumption specified there.
According to Kolesnikov, the increased consumption threshold will help residents of non-gasified regions with harsh climates to heat not only their homes, but also livestock premises, and thus to run their households.
Sergey Sasim, Director of the Center for Electric Power Industry Research at the Institute for Economic Research and Development of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, emphasizes that today the population pays for electricity on average 1.56 rubles/kWh less than its economically justified price. By region, the figure varies from 0.11 to 3.78 rubles/kWh.
Sergey Sasim cites statistics on actual electricity consumption in the household sector, according to which the average Russian using electric stoves consumes about 237 kWh/month, while gas stoves consume 154 kWh/month. Only a few regions with non-typical consumption are exceptions.
- It is obvious that the decisions taken on range restrictions are temporary. Further, it will be necessary to develop a methodology by which the consumption range will take into account the reduction of cross-subsidization," believes Sergei Sasim.
Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund, reminded that the government is now trying to combat excessive consumption, namely illegal home mining, which is, in fact, a commercial activity. In regions where gasification is low, this becomes a problem, he notes.
Therefore, in winter time there is a risk that Russians from regions with low gasification will be included in industrial consumers and set high tariffs. In the meantime, it is very expensive to heat with electricity even at a preferential tariff, says the expert.
Time will show how effective the application of the increasing coefficient will be, concluded the expert of the "People's Front. Analytics" Irina Blinkova.
- However, monitoring of citizens' appeals allows us to believe that the value of the increasing coefficient may be insufficient. This means that the costs of residents who heat their homes with electricity will be higher," she concluded.
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