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- FAS on tariffs: the government will control the price increase in receipts for housing and communal services
FAS on tariffs: the government will control the price increase in receipts for housing and communal services
The expansion of the powers of the Federal Antimonopoly Service may become the most significant change in the sphere of tariff regulation in recent years. The new draft law, adopted by the State Duma in the first reading, will allow the FAS to independently set economically reasonable tariffs if regional authorities are inactive or ignore its instructions. In 2025, the service has already identified 102 billion rubles of unjustified charges. However, the question of whether tariffs will actually decrease remains open. Experts assess the prospects ambiguously. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Centralization versus lobbying
The total amount of economically unjustified funds allocated for exclusion from tariffs in 2023-2025 amounted to 102.62 billion rubles, the FAS press service reported. According to the agency, the new bill will increase the percentage of fulfilled regulations in the field of state regulation of tariffs by regional tariff regulatory authorities. Thus, in 2024 and 2025, the service recorded 93 cases of non-compliance with such decisions by regional tariff regulatory authorities, while 56 of them were committed by five regulators.
The State Duma in the first reading supported the draft federal law No. 1081974-8, which significantly expands the powers of the Federal Antimonopoly Service to control tariffs for electricity, heat, water and sanitation, said Svetlana Razvorotneva, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services.
The support of the bill in the State Duma is not accidental: deputies recognize the need to restore order in tariff policy, where federal decisions often stall at the regional level.
Uverotneva notes that 102 billion rubles, unreasonably included in tariffs, have already been deducted, but the problem is that a number of regions simply ignore the instructions of the federal agency.
Five subjects, according to representatives of the FAS, do not comply with the decisions of the service at all. It is assumed that the new right of the FAS to coordinate the appointment of heads of regional tariff committees will make it possible to cut off those who allow fraud.
Uverotneva also points out that the root of the problem is often the human factor: "The best lobbyists achieve the best tariffs." According to her, energy traditionally wins, while water supply and sanitation remain chronically underfunded.
In many cases, expanding the rights of the Federal Antimonopoly Service will really help, said Alexey Makrushin, acting head of the Housing and Communal Services Commission of the Public Council under the Ministry of Construction.
— The problem is that decisions made based on the results of the consideration of disagreements are ignored on the ground. After the adoption of the law, enforcement will become more expeditious," he emphasizes.
The expert points out that if a dispute arises between the FAS and the region, then before the court's decision, tariffs should be set according to the calculations of the FAS, and not local regulators. According to him, this will strengthen the manageability and qualifications of the heads of tariff authorities, because their mistakes are costly to both citizens and enterprises.
The mechanics of "boiler" control
One of the key innovations concerns the distribution of gross revenue between network organizations. The mechanism, called the boiler, has become a source of conflict and manipulation in recent years.
Svetlana Razvorotneva explains that the backbone organization ("boiler holder") receives payment for electricity transmission services and distributes these funds between grid structures. The new order should make this process transparent. "In case of non—compliance with the decision of the FAS, it will be able to review the price limits and determine an economically reasonable share of revenue for each company," the source told Izvestia.
Vladimir Prokhorov, the developer, owner of Udacha Group of Companies, and a member of the General Council of Delovaya Rossiya, agrees with her.
— The proposed measure is aimed at eliminating local arbitrariness. Today, it is more profitable for regulators to ignore the FAS regulations in order to maintain profits. New opportunities for revenue distribution between network organizations will help eliminate nepotism and establish equal pricing standards," he believes.
According to Prokhorov, steps towards centralization can reduce distortions between regions and make the system clearer for businesses and consumers.
Infrastructure and investments
An attempt to establish a tariff system inevitably runs into the problem of the state of public utilities, and the adoption of the law will not solve all the problems, said deputy Razvorotneva.
— When setting tariffs, the principle of "from what has been achieved" is still used — without analyzing the effectiveness of enterprises. No one connects tariff formation with modernization. If you switch the boiler room to gas, the cost of a gigacalory will decrease, but the tariff still increases according to the formula," she complains.
Razvorotneva proposes to introduce mandatory investment programs and five-year tariffs, supported by the results of modernization. But the bill that has already been approved is still stuck at the second reading stage.
Lev Gorilovsky, a member of the coordinating council, Chairman of the Committee on Communal Infrastructure and Housing of Delovaya Rossiya, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Polyplastic Group LLC, gives similar assessments.
— Since the introduction of marginal indices, the gap between real inflation and actual tariff growth has exceeded 40% in ten years — tariffs are systematically lagging behind inflation. This directly affects the inability of organizations to maintain infrastructure systems in high—quality condition," the expert points out.
Gorilovsky is confident that only a transition to the principles of life cycle efficiency can launch a full-scale modernization. In turn, Alexey Makrushin adds that today the costs of enterprises are growing due to the rising cost of energy resources and the high rate.
"In such conditions, regulators need a delicate balance: tariffs should be acceptable to the public, but sufficient for the survival of housing and communal services enterprises," he notes.
Water is a resource under pressure
The water supply market is in a much more painful state, where tariffs have long been unable to cover the cost. According to Sergey Krzhanovsky, Director of Government Relations at Rosvodokanal Group of Companies, the tariff setting system in housing and communal services, especially in the field of water supply and sanitation, requires serious reform.
"Tariffs are calculated based on the restrictions on the growth of citizens' wages established at the federal level, and not based on the needs of the communal infrastructure in a particular municipality," he emphasizes.
The expert notes that the underestimated investment costs of water utilities create a chronic shortage of finances, slow down the development of networks and make the deterioration of communications uncontrollable. In his opinion, it is necessary to keep the funds released from the organization when efficiency increases, and not cut them out of the tariff.
Sergey Kostyuchenkov, Chairman of the Committee on Entrepreneurship in Housing and Communal Services of the Tula Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirms the serious dependence of the tariff on the state of the networks. He draws attention to the systemic influence of RSO regional lobbyists on local tariff committees.
— Regional deputies or officials often serve on the boards of directors of resource supply organizations, and the tariff committee acts in their interests. Therefore, the expansion of the FAS's powers is designed to restore the balance between monopolists and consumers," the expert concludes.
He does not expect a sharp reduction in tariffs, but predicts their alignment "towards a reasonable and fair level."
Centralization and legal barriers
Even with the expansion of the FAS's powers, legal conflicts remain that hinder a unified approach.
"It should be clarified that the amount of 102.3 billion rubles has been accumulated in six years, and not in one year in 2025," says Galina Minofyeva, director of the Institute of Economics and Housing and Communal Services Law. — But the increase in excluded expenses is associated not only with abuse, but with different interpretations of pricing norms.
In her opinion, as long as market participants, the courts and the Federal Antimonopoly Service interpret the basic principles differently, conflicts will be repeated. .
Stanislav Guzhov, Associate Professor at RANEPA, adds that the legislative strengthening of the role of the Federal Antimonopoly Service is a step towards increasing transparency.:
— Centralization of tariff formation and transparency reduce the opportunities for "gray" surcharges. The FAS gets a direct intervention tool if the regions ignore the decisions. This will provide consumers with more honest tariffs," he believes.
The expert is convinced that it is important not just to "extinguish fires", but to implement a system of regular monitoring, digitalization and auditing, otherwise the mechanism will not become sustainable.
Andrey Zhbanchikov, the head of the public council at the Saratov Region State Medical Academy, is more skeptical about the prospects.
— Previously, the FAS had already participated in the tariff coordination, but this had little effect on the level of figures. The agency is checking financial parameters such as depreciation and indexation of the wage fund, but a real reduction in tariffs is unlikely," he says.
Much more important, according to him, is monitoring the implementation of investment programs and network modernization.
The Ministry of Construction of Russia reminds that currently subsidies are provided to families whose corresponding payments exceed 22% of total income to pay for housing and utilities. Compensation for housing and communal services costs is provided for citizens belonging to certain preferential categories, such as pensioners, veterans, war veterans and large families.
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