Repair costs in the structure of the heat tariff

Abstract

In general, in the Russian Federation, there is a negative trend towards an increase in the share of dilapidated heating networks, a decline in the reliability of heat supply, which is caused by underfunding in terms of repair costs included in the heat tariff. Currently, there is no methodology for determining the amount of economically justified repair costs in the legislation on tariff regulation in heat supply. In the case of underestimation of repair costs in the tariff compared to the objectively necessary value, the problem arises of inadequate repair of the heat and power facilities, which leads to a critical deterioration in the reliability of heat supply. If, on the other hand, repair costs are overstated, the tariff for thermal energy increases unreasonably, or (when the limit index of growth in the utility bills is reached), other items of expenses of heat supply organizations would unreasonably decrease. The assessment of the validity of including repair costs in heat tariffs was carried out on the example of several heat supply organizations based on data from heat supply arrangement and the Federal State Information System "Unified Information and Analytical System “Federal Regulatory Authority — Regional Regulatory Authorities — Regulatory Entities". The actual distribution of repair costs in different heat supply organizations does not depend on the composition or quantity of equipment, nor is it justified methodologically. The calculation of the required amount of repair costs is multifactorial, but its components are mostly based on installed capacity, the quantity of heat and power equipment, and the length of heating networks. It is therefore necessary to develop a methodology for determining the required amount of repair costs to be included in the thermal energy tariff.