Industry proposes to limit preferential electricity consumption for citizens

The Community of Energy Consumers proposed that the government establish a maximum ceiling for electricity consumption at preferential tariffs for the population. The limit level, in their opinion, should be 10.8 thousand kWh per month – this is the maximum amount of energy that an object connected to a power of 15 kW can technically consume. The measure will not affect citizens, but will help overcome gray miners and reduce the burden on business, the industry believes. According to Kommersant, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak instructed the FAS and other regulators to study the issue. However, the initiative may not work due to regional characteristics, analysts warn.

The Community of Energy Consumers (unites industrial consumers of electricity) proposed that Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak tighten the parameters of the new mechanism for differentiating electricity tariffs for the population. Under the mechanism, the tariff increases as household consumption increases.

According to the association, the regulator should set for the regions the maximum consumption level at preferential tariffs at the level of 10.8 thousand kWh per month (total for the first and second consumption ranges) – this is the maximum amount of energy that a 15 kW facility can technically consume , follows from a letter from the director of the Energy Consumers Community Valery Dzyubenko (Kommersant has the document dated January 19). Consumption in excess of this volume must be paid at economically justified tariffs. As follows from the letter, the initiative will not affect citizens, but will help overcome uncontrolled gray energy consumption in the household sector (including by cryptocurrency miners).

Mr. Dzyubenko, in a letter to Alexander Novak, proposed “to conduct an analysis of tariff decisions adopted in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation with an assessment of their impact on the amount of cross-subsidization (additional payment by businesses for reduced tariffs of the population.— “Kommersant”)” and prepare proposals to increase the effectiveness of the new mechanism in the regions.

Mr. Novak has already instructed the FAS, together with the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Economy, to consider consumer proposals and “submit agreed proposals to the government” (“Kommersant saw the document dated January 26”). The FAS told Kommersant that they are analyzing the initiative. “The tariff differentiation mechanism requires detailed discussion and analysis of regional specifics,” they said.

At the moment, 53 regions have introduced a differentiation mechanism. On average, the threshold value of the first consumption range corresponds to the average monthly consumption of 10 thousand kWh during the non-heating period, the second range – 17 thousand kWh, calculated Sergei Sasim, director of the Center for Electric Power Research at the Higher School of Economics. The tariff for the second range relative to the first increases by an average of 16%, and for the third range relative to the first – by 75%.

According to the Energy Consumers Community, only 19 regions have set the first range below 11 thousand kWh per month, including Altai, Dagestan, Smolensk and Novgorod regions. In 15 regions, the first range is at a level of about 11 thousand kWh. Among them are the Moscow, Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions. In Khakassia, Bashkiria, Udmurtia and the Penza region, the limit of the first range is 20 thousand kWh.

The number of regions with a mechanism for differentiating tariffs for the population will apparently increase further. In February, it is planned to cancel six tariff decisions, the FAS told Kommersant, adding that the service has already canceled 14 tariff decisions in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which exceeded the maximum amount of cross-subsidization (additional payment by businesses for reduced tariffs of the population) and did not introduce a differentiation mechanism . The Irkutsk region is one of these regions. According to Kommersant’s sources, at the end of 2023, the region’s tariff authority suddenly canceled a meeting on installing a differentiation mechanism. According to unofficial information, the tariff service wanted to set the first consumption range at 20–25 thousand kWh per month.

Sergei Sasim proposes to tie the logic of forming price ranges to the rate of reduction in the volume of cross-subsidies and adjust the methodology for setting tariffs, eliminating the possibility of establishing ranges with a difference of one kopeck. A single consumption range for the entire country will also not be effective in the fight against gray cryptocurrency mining, he warns: in regions with “extremely low tariffs for the population,” even a preferential level of 10.8 thousand kWh “may not be enough to qualitatively change the situation “

Polina Smertina