ETK transferred its forces to repair highways
Ekaterinburg Heating Network Company, controlled by T Plus, in 2024 significantly reduced the rate of replacement and repair of pipelines. Compared to previous periods, the volume of relays decreased by more than one and a half times, and the company itself explains this dynamics by the fact that power engineers have largely focused their efforts on large-diameter heating networks, the damage of which immediately affects a significant number of consumers. In addition, some of the resources were taken over by large-scale projects not directly related to heating networks, as well as inflationary factors. The company admits: although such volumes of work make it possible to curb the growth of accidents, to update the heating infrastructure it is necessary to increase them two and a half times. ETK management notes that there will never be enough money in the tariff for such growth, and it will be possible to achieve the ambitious goal only after switching to regulation using the alternative boiler house method. This, in turn, could lead to a significant increase in the cost of heat for residents of Yekaterinburg, when T Plus had already encountered a similar scenario in neighboring Perm, and in Abakan, after a sharp jump in prices, the FAS had to intervene in the matter.
PJSC T Plus has begun the next stage of negotiations with the government of the Sverdlovsk region on the transition of Yekaterinburg to the heat supply price zone.
The company’s management expects to resolve this issue in the coming years.
Let us remind you that the transition to a price zone or regulation using the alternative boiler house method involves abandoning the traditional method of setting the price of heat.
Instead, a maximum limit is approved, above which the supplier cannot sell the resource. This price is determined based on the estimated cost of construction and operation of a conventional boiler house, which gives the name to the methodology.
As practice shows, thermal producers take advantage of this opportunity and supply heat at the maximum permissible cost. At the same time, energy companies can keep all the savings if they improve their operating efficiency. In return, they undertake to invest in infrastructure and ensure a certain volume of investment, as well as achieving target heat supply quality indicators. All obligations are enshrined in an agreement with regional authorities, who control their implementation.
Executive Director of ETK JSC Andrey Shmelkov told the publication that the transition to an alt-boiler plant will allow the modernization of the heating network infrastructure of Yekaterinburg to begin, since for now power engineers can only “prevent an increase in damage and ensure reliability at an acceptable level.” According to the manager, for this it is necessary to carry out work on 100 km of pipelines annually.
It should be noted that this year the company plans to reinstall and repair a total of only 39.9 km of heating networks. A year ago, with comparable investments, ETK updated 72 km of infrastructure. The almost twofold reduction in energy volumes was explained by the rise in prices of building materials and the implementation of large projects.
However, the transition to the price zone, which is lobbied by energy companies, may entail an increase in the cost of heat, which has already increased significantly in recent years, accounting for up to 50% of the population’s total payment for housing and communal services. For example, since 2021, T Plus is regulated by the alt boiler house in Perm: the company has committed to investing 28 billion rubles in the city.
According to the Ministry of Tariff of the Perm Territory, after the transition, for 80% of residents of the regional center, the cost of heating increased by 5%, which on average amounted to 200 rubles in physical terms for an average two-room apartment. For other consumers in the CHPP-9 area, the dynamics turned out to be almost 2 times higher. In turn, for Yekaterinburg, according to officials, an alt boiler room can provoke an increase in the cost of heat resources by up to 30% at once.
Price zones are already used in 43 cities in 20 regions of Russia. Among them: Novosibirsk, Barnaul, Orenburg, Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo, Cheboksary, Perm and others. Practice shows that scenarios of sharp price increases do not look unrealistic.
For example, the agreement between Khakassia and SGK stipulated that the cost of heat should be set according to the formula “consumer price index + 2%”. However, in 2022 the CPI showed growth significantly higher than predicted. The first increase occurred in Abakan in December 2021 by 8%, from July 2022 another 6.3% was added, and in 2023 another 11%. The mayor of Abakan then stated that the contract with SGK could be terminated.
However, when exactly the issue regarding Yekaterinburg will be resolved is still unclear. The management of T Plus has been announcing the imminent transition of the capital of the Urals to the price zone for several years now. For the first time, the holding included the metropolis among the promising territories for the implementation of a new heat market model back in 2016. The company’s ex-CEO Andrei Vagner announced 2022, and his successor Alexander Vilesov called 2024, but no formalized decision has yet been made.
This is largely due to the cautious position of the regional government, which fears extremely negative social consequences.
