INSPECTION OF THE FAS HAS REDUCED TARIFFS FOR SOLID MUNICIPAL WASTE TREATMENT BY 30.9%

FAS will verify all regions whether tariffs for solid municipal waste treatment are justified; the Antimonopoly Service is going to hold inspections in 30 more regions

The National Tariff Regulation Workshop in Crimea on 15 October 2019 included a session on the “Pressing issues of tariff-setting in solid municipal waste treatment”. Following FAS inspections, orders have been given to the regional tariff regulators to eliminate violations in waste treatment, particularly, to eliminate unreasonable expenses.

For instance, tariffs in the Sverdlovsk region decreased by 16.8-30.9%, the Kostroma region - by 10.9%, the Kirov region - by 16.2%, the Omsk region - by 30%, the Tyumen region – by 2.2%, Khanty-Mansiisky Autonomous District - by 3.6%, the Orenburg region - by 11.9%.

The orders issued for the Lipetsk, Vologda, Novosibirsk, Volgograd, Kaluga regions and the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic are being executed. 30 more regions are under inspections.

Tariff reduction was facilitated also by FAS proposals to change the payment rate for adverse impact on the environment in solid municipal waste disposal. FAS was also involved in adopting the law, according to which by 1 January 2023 regions can temporary legalize the existing solid municipal waste facilities under a streamlined basis and legally operate them. In view of this, FAS drafted amendments to the basics of pricing.

According to Deputy Head of FAS Department for Regulating the Housing-and-Utilities Sector, Alexander Fedyakov, FAS is also drafting a Governmental Decree which clarifies the procedure for estimating the operator’s costs and profit margin. The amendments are aimed at reducing the tariff burden on consumers.

“FAS will continue improving the foundations of pricing and resolving the existing issues, such as waste transportation costs, status uncertainty of waste transshipment stations, separate waste collection, unbalanced territorial schemes, the costs of waste reclamation and other sectoral objectives”, concluded Head of FAS Department for Regulating the Housing-and-Utilities Sector Alexei Matyukhin.

The National Workshop on Tariff Regulation in 2019 and the goals of regulators for 2020 takes place on 15-17 October in the Republic of Crimea. The event participants are discussing tariff regulation of the telecommunications sector, gas supply, heating supply and solid municipal waste treatment.