FAS IS ACCEPTING PROPOSALS REGARDING THE PROCEDURE FOR SETTING A FEE FOR CONNECTING TO THE HOUSING-AND-UTILITIES SYSTEMS

Possible options for estimating fees for connecting to the systems of heat- and water supply and water drainage were discussed at a specialized session of the workshop on “Evolution of tariff regulation in 2020" in Sochi

As explained by Deputy Head of FAS Department for Regulating the Housing-and-Utilities Sector, Elena Tsyshevskaya, the work is undertaken under the frame of a law drafted by the Ministry of Construction and supported by FAS. The draft law changes approaches to estimating fees for connecting to the heating supply, water supply and water drainage systems. It suggests applying standardized rates of connection tariffs to estimate the fees, and also introduces the rights of the subjects of the Russian Federation for setting the rates at the same level for all regulated organizations in a region.

FAS is also undertaking robust efforts to collect proposals on particular types of costs included in the standardized rates, informed the speaker.

“In our opinion, adopting the draft law will make the connection tariffs more transparent and understandable for consumers, and also exclude cross-subsidizing in this area”, pointed out Irina Kasatkina, Unit Head of FAS Department for Regulating the Housing-and-Utilities Sector.

The session also discussed other options for fixing the fee for connection to the housing-and-utilities systems, for example, by agreement between the parties. Free-of-charge connection was also considered.

At the final stage of the discussion, its participants looked into introduction of a capacity cession in water supply and drainage, which generated a vivid response from the market participants and regulators.

The opinions of the industry representatives will be taken into account by FAS in its further efforts.