Development of public-private collaboration on the basis of heat supply concessions

Abstract

Introduction. The decrease in the efficiency of the heat supply industry, caused by a high degree of deterioration of the main production assets, creates the necessity to modernize the sphere, which requires the involvement of a significant amount of investment resources. One of the effective tools contributing to this process is public-private partnership (PPP), which includes positive aspects both for state and municipal authorities as well as for business representatives. Materials and methods. Theoretical and methodological basis of the study was provided by the works of domestic researchers on the implementation of capital investments in the development of heat supply. Methods of theoretical research were used to analyze the practice of implementation of projects to modernize the heat supply using PPP, modeling stages of the concession agreements, as well as methods of empirical research in terms of comparing the forms of interaction between government and business in the joint implementation of projects for the development and modernization of the heat supply. Results. The study of professional opinions of Russian researchers on the issue of insufficient effectiveness ofthe implementation of the public-private partnership instrument in the field of housing and communal services and energy, including heat supply, has enabled the formation of a list of problem areas in order to identify areas for their solutions. Conclusions. The presented successfully implemented cases of modernization of heat supply systems in the Russian regions, which have been implemented through concession agreements between the authorities and business representatives, allowed to confirm the thesis that the concession is one of the best forms of PPP implementation in the field of heat supply. According to the prospective estimates of the National PPP Centre, about 130 PPP projects in the housing and utilities sector may be launched already by 2024, and the value of investments may exceed RUR 230 billion.