Features of quality assurance and tariff regulation for heat supply services

Abstract

The article deals with studying the state of providing heat supply services. The quality indica-tors of centralized heat supply services have been categorized. The evaluation of the quality of cen-tralized heat supply services hinges on principal benchmarks such as punctuality in starting and fin-ishing the heating season, uninterrupted service provision, and adherence to current regulations. Having analysed the heat energy supply, its pricing was divided into two components – condi-tionally permanent and conditionally variable. Such division allows us to mitigate the adverse effects of the seasonality of this housing and communal services category. It's noteworthy that this tariff formation developed with the 'cost plus' method (which also includes heat energy losses), is assumed imperfect according to European standards. It provides only a minimal level of profitability, which neither fosters equipment development nor encourages cost savings nor motivates employees. The study on the quality of heat supply services revealed that the assessment was primarily based on the minimum technical requirements and consumer relations. The article states that the principal challenge in providing high-quality heat supply services is the lack of competition in this sector. Heat supply enterprises do not have enough incentives to enhance their efficiency and seek opportunities for implementing investment programmes to ensure a more cost-effective service sup-ply. To improve quality and resolve current issues the authors propose to adopt non-conventional measures, to investigate changes in the quality of heat supply services and how they are evaluated by consumers, to inform the regulatory housing and communal services authorities and local self-government bodies about the existing problems of heat supply services and their quality so that they can make effective management decisions. For the purpose of enhancing the quality of heat supply services, it has been recommended to use monitoring based on the integrated quality index calculation. This index comprises elements such as commercial service quality, service reliability, service accessibility, and technical quality.