It became known how much smart meters will cost residents

It seems that the authorities have seriously taken up the digitalization of the domestic housing and communal services. Three departments at once – the Ministry of Digital Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Construction – are preparing to install “smart” meters in apartment buildings under construction: for hot and cold water, heat and gas consumption. Moreover, the devices will be exclusively domestic production. Will municipal re-equipment affect the cost of housing and communal services – that is the question.

Judging by the draft government decree being prepared, smart metering devices will be installed not only in apartments, but also in common areas and common access areas. And the first such devices will appear in new buildings next year. And apartment-by-apartment installation in MKD will begin in 2027.

Experts have many questions about this initiative. The fact is that smart meters must be of domestic production. And does our industry have the capacity to not drag out a campaign for decades, but to provide construction sites with instruments in a fairly short time?

After all, so far the equipping of apartments with metering devices (not smart ones, but ordinary ones) is not going well. Thus, according to information from the State Duma, only 36% of apartments in Russia are equipped with cold water meters, and 30% for hot water. The situation is even worse when taking into account gas consumption; here there are a lot of such devices: less than one percent.

On the other hand, not long ago the issue of installing domestic gas analyzers in apartments was discussed to prevent household gas explosions. In the event of a network depressurization, they must automatically turn off the fuel supply. Unfortunately, the utility workers themselves have many questions about them. Not reliable, they may not work at the right time.

There is one more nuance. Sources from departments interested in this project report that the installation of smart meters will lead to significant savings in the use of resources, which is, first of all, beneficial to the residents themselves. It is better, they say, to spend money on the device once (the preliminary cost is 5.5 thousand rubles), but then smaller amounts will be spent on monthly utility bills. All readings will be extremely transparent and open.

But if this is really the case, then what interest do management companies have in switching to digital? It is no secret that they are often trying to increase costs for consumed resources in order to increase their profits. And if everything is transparent and objective, then what is their interest?

An expert in the field of housing and communal services, an analyst of the ONF thematic platform “Housing and the Urban Environment” Pavel Sklyanchuk believes that residents and resource suppliers want objective accounting, but not always public utilities, who can manipulate consumption data.

“There are opponents of such devices,” he says. “But if we establish increased liability for the deliberate disabling of modern equipment and strict penalties, then there will be no problems with implementation.

– How does a smart meter differ from a regular, mechanical one?

– It transmits the readings of the device remotely. Today, tenants write down this data on a piece of paper, then report it to the management company… In general, the Stone Age. Smart meters have a SIM card installed and are connected to the Internet, information is transferred automatically.

– Such devices already exist, have they been tested?

– While there is no demand, there is no supply. The initiative to oblige developers to immediately install smart equipment in new houses is precisely aimed at ensuring that the manufacturer receives an order. This will spur domestic producers.

– Are there such enterprises?

– Large production facilities producing conventional meters are ready to switch to new products. There are small IT companies capable of mastering such devices. But since they do not yet have sales, it is clearly too early to talk about industrial scale production. Long-term contracts with construction organizations are required.

– Who will install smart devices and at whose expense? Will they hurt the tenant’s pocket?

– The developer will purchase and install the equipment. It is clear that the costs will subsequently fall on the owners. After all, everything that is inside the apartment is private property. However, the cost per square meter of area will increase quite slightly.