The government quietly launched a reform of electricity tariffs for the population

The government still managed to launch a reform of electricity tariffs for the population. The authorities of 53 constituent entities of the Russian Federation have already introduced differentiation of household tariffs based on consumption volumes, a FAS representative said last week. The number of regions will increase, they are intrigued by the service.

New differentiated tariffs, or, in fact, a social norm for energy consumption per household, will come into effect on July 1, 2024. The cost per kilowatt hour will increase as electricity consumption increases. The regions did not take such a step out of a good life: they were unable to contain the increase in electricity transmission tariffs for business. In Russia, prices for the population are artificially lowered, and part of the burden is shifted to commercial enterprises. The permitted volume of “crossroads” for 2024 is 241 billion rubles. The region can go beyond the limits only if it launches reform of household tariffs.

Not everyone agreed to the new rules. 10-15 regions increased the “crossroads”, but refused to change tariffs for the population, a FAS representative said. As Kommersant wrote on December 20, the service is now trying to force such refuseniks to reconsider their tariffs.

The most striking example of a refusenik is the Irkutsk region, whose authorities in 2021 begged the federal center to introduce new tariff standards. The region, which became the informal capital of mining, wanted to defeat the “gray” miners in garages with such a mechanism. According to my sources, the tariff authorities of Irkutsk promised Moscow to switch to a new system and even planned a meeting for the New Year, but for some reason they never got together. Irkutsk authorities allegedly fear social tension before the elections.

But this is hard to believe: it is unlikely that the authorities of other regions that have decided to launch the reform are not afraid of the anger of citizens. And it is unlikely that it will erupt. The social norm with its loud name is always a resonant measure, but I believe that, having delved into its essence, citizens will understand how toothless it is. After all, it leads to a significant increase in prices only if the region sets a low volume of preferential consumption. Such a region will bravely condemn itself to a social explosion, but only then will these decisions somehow affect the “crossroads”. And I am sure that in most tariff decisions that analysts are currently studying, the preferential consumption limit will be much higher than the standard expenditure for an average family.

Old-timers in the industry hope that the reform will gradually be brought to fruition. But it’s still difficult for me to agree with this. Alas, the only way to overcome the “crossroads” is to begin to gradually increase tariffs for the population to an economically justified level.