The cost of heating a home is one of the most significant components of the bills that we pay for housing and communal services. It is not surprising, therefore, that among the frequent questions that arise among consumers of utility services, an important place is occupied by the procedure for charging for the supply of heat to our homes. We decided to raise this topic again due to the loss of force of the Rules for the provision of utility services to citizens, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 23, 2006 No. 307, and the adoption of a new document dated June 29, 2016 No. 603 “On amendments to certain acts of the Government of the Russian Federation on issues of provision of public services." Starting from July 1, 2016, the procedure for calculating heating fees was changed, so on the pages of the MG we will look at where the specific numbers in the “heating” column will come from in 2017.
Today, payments for thermal energy can be carried out in one of two ways:
A specific method is chosen by the Moscow Government no more than once a year before October 1 of the current year and the decision made is implemented only in the next year: from July 1 when switching to equal payment throughout the year, or from the first day of the heating season when switching to payment, accordingly, during the heating season.
For 2017, the city government has maintained a uniform method of paying for heating in the territory of Moscow, excluding the Troitsky and Novomoskovsky districts. However, for TiNAO the same calculation procedure applies.
In 2017, residents of houses that are not yet equipped with a building-wide heat energy meter will pay 1.5 times more than residents of those houses where such a meter is installed.
Let's look at four typical cases, according to which fees are charged for supplying heat to our homes.
Case 1. The house is not equipped with a common house metering device (CHD), and there is no technical possibility of installing it. This mainly applies to old housing stock. Here the calculation is carried out using the following formula:
Case 2. The house is not equipped with a control unit, but at the same time it is technically possible to install it (housing stock, where, for various reasons, a common house heat meter has not yet been installed). In this case, the calculation is carried out as follows:
As can be seen from the above formula, residents of houses that are not yet equipped with a common house heat meter will in 2017 pay 1.5 times more than houses where such a meter is installed. In accordance with Federal Law No. 261-FZ “On energy supply and increasing energy efficiency”, common meters must be installed in all apartment buildings before July 1, 2012, then this period was extended, however, today even in Moscow there are no all houses are equipped with them. A special increasing coefficient should encourage homeowners to take measures to ensure that such meters appear in their homes. However, for example, in the settlement of Sosenskoye, fire control units are installed in the old housing stock as part of a long-term target program at the expense of local budget funds.
Case 3. The house has a control unit, but not all rooms are equipped with individual heat metering devices (IMU). This case applies to the overwhelming number of houses built after the introduction of the Law “On Energy Saving”, when the installation of communal meters became the responsibility of developers. In this example, the calculation is carried out using the following formula:
Once a year, the heating fee is adjusted based on actual consumption, according to the formula:
In this case, the management company calculates payments evenly throughout the year according to the standard or average actual consumption for the previous year, and after a year makes a recalculation based on the readings of the common building meter. In this case, the recalculation can be either down or up, depending on how cold and long the heating season was, as well as on the efficiency of heat consumption by the owners, including in common areas.
Case 4. The house is equipped with control room and all rooms of the house are also equipped with control room. This case mainly applies to new buildings with a horizontal heating system, which allows you to install a heat meter separately for each apartment. The calculation will be carried out using the following formula:
Adjustment of heating fees based on actual consumption (once a year):
Separately, it should be noted that in order to apply calculation scheme No. 4, all residential and non-residential premises in an apartment building must be equipped with meters. At the same time, all meters must be in good condition, be verified within the established time frame (once every 4 years), and must also be put into operation with the involvement of the management company. This situation makes it virtually impossible to pay for individual heat meters, since one device that is not working or has not passed verification is enough for the calculation to be made according to scheme No. 3.
The government has decided to maintain uniform payments for heat consumption in apartment buildings for 2017.
So, we have examined 4 typical cases of payment for thermal energy that owners of multi-apartment residential buildings face (apartment buildings stand apart, where the common property includes their own boiler room and where the owners pay not for thermal energy, but, as a rule, for gas, which used to heat water). As you can see, according to amendments to federal legislation, the metropolitan government now determines how Muscovites will pay for heating: evenly throughout the year or only during the heating season. For now, the decision has been made to keep payments evenly over 12 months. It can be assumed that this is due to the desire to evenly distribute the burden on family budgets (primarily low-income citizens). If, say, the annual payment for heating is 12,000 rubles and this amount is distributed evenly throughout the year, then the monthly burden on the budget will be 1,000 rubles. If payment occurs only during the heating season, which in our region is 5-6 months, then heating costs during this period increase by 2 times, although they disappear completely during the rest of the year.
Regulations:
1. In accordance with clause 42.1 of the Rules for the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings (approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 2011 N 354 (as amended on June 29, 2016) “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings").
2. Clause 2 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated June 29, 2016 N 603 “On amendments to certain acts of the Government of the Russian Federation on the provision of utility services.”
3. Decree of the Moscow Government of September 29, 2016 N 629-PP “On maintaining a uniform procedure for paying for utility services for heating in the territory of the city of Moscow and amending the Moscow Government Decree of January 11, 1994 N 41.”
4. Clause 3 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated June 29, 2016 N 603 “On amendments to certain acts of the Government of the Russian Federation on the provision of utility services.”
5. Clause 2(1), appendix 2 of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2011 N 354 (as amended on June 29, 2016) “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings” (together with the “Rules for the provision of utility services services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings").
6. Clause 2(2), Appendix 2 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 05/06/2011 N 354 (as amended on 06/29/2016) “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings” (together with the “Rules for the provision of utility services services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings").
7. Clause 3(2), appendix 2 of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2011 N 354 (as amended on June 29, 2016) “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings” (together with the “Rules for the provision of utility services services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings").
8. Clause 3(3), appendix 2 of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2011 N 354 (as amended on June 29, 2016) “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings” (together with the “Rules for the provision of utility services services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings").
Many Russians have probably wondered: why do we pay for heating not only in winter, but also in summer, when heat is not supplied to the radiators? In fact, everything is quite simple, and the logic here, in principle, should be clear. For many families, paying for this particular service can seriously hit the budget, and therefore it is easier to divide the total amount into all 12 months, since in the end their amount will decrease.
Let's look at a simple example, where the figures for the cost of housing and communal services are conditional - just for a better understanding of the situation. For example, for a year you need to pay 72 thousand rubles for heating. You can break this amount down into:
As you can see, the monthly payment in the second case is reduced by 2 thousand rubles, but the payment period is extended by 3 months. I would like to emphasize once again that the figures given are conditional, since the main thing here is to explain the feasibility of this type of payment. This is the same as buying some kind of consumer electronics on credit - if there is an offer with a zero rate, many prefer to pay the entire amount not at once, but systematically, in equal parts. Thus, we pay gradually, relatively small amounts. As a result, there is no need to “bleed” the family budget by several tens of thousands of rubles at once, and the necessary thing is purchased.
It’s the same with heating - instead of paying quite significant amounts, but only during the heating season, consumers are asked to split the payment over the entire 12 months. Therefore, the point here is not whether heat is supplied to the batteries in summer or not. For example, residents of the capital pay for heat. At the government level, it was decided to divide the annual tariff rate for Muscovites into 12 equal parts. However, there is also one point here that consumers do not quite like. The thing is that the payment amount is calculated from the standards calculated for the harshest winter. In other words, the real temperature regime is not taken into account, and we pay, as they say, in full.
Naturally, when the winter was warm, the amount of thermal energy consumed was reduced, but payments were sent to citizens in accordance with current standards. By the way, it’s worth considering that Moscow residents are lucky here, since about 25 percent of the costs are covered by the capital’s government. Residents of other settlements are forced to pay 100 percent of the thermal energy they consume.
In the 2016/2017 season, the calculation of subscription fees in a number of regions will change.
However, this year the situation will be somewhat different. In some regions of the country, the monthly fee will be calculated differently. Citizens will only pay for the amount of thermal energy they actually consumed based on the results of the previous month. On the one hand, such a step may be inconvenient for the population, since many are accustomed to dividing the entire amount into 12 months, whereas now the numbers in their payments are guaranteed to increase. But at the same time, we should not forget that with standards that take into account the most stringent temperature regime, and not the real one, there is a wide field for various kinds of illegal schemes. As a result, the population is forced to pay out of their own pockets for services that they, in fact, did not consume. Naturally, this situation causes some dissatisfaction. People may well be outraged, rightly asking why we pay for services that we do not actually consume.
The authorities of Berdsk appealed to the governor of the Novosibirsk region with a request to allow city residents not to pay for heat in the summer
It is worth noting that in Russia, in fact, there is no consensus as to which of the two options is better. Some people like to pay for heating all year round, including in the summer, but with smaller amounts in receipts. At the same time, there are many supporters of the second option. For example, at the end of June, the Berdsk authorities announced their intention to contact Vladimir Gorodetsky, who holds the post of governor of the Novosibirsk region. They asked the head of the region to allow charging a monthly fee for heating only during the heating season, eliminating the need to charge it in the summer.
This desire of the local authorities is connected with the decision of the tariff department. There it was decided that it would be advisable to switch to a scheme in which the population would pay for the consumed thermal energy throughout the year. The corresponding resolution was signed by Vladimir Gorodetsky in mid-July 2016. According to the document, even residents of those houses in which meters are installed will pay for heating all year round.
Regional officials explain their decision as follows. In their opinion, paying 6-7 thousand rubles for heat in the fall, winter and spring, and paying nothing in the summer, will be quite expensive for many residents. In this regard, officials considered it inappropriate to leave the three months of the warmest time of the year as “unloading” months.
It should be noted that consumers themselves were completely deprived of the right to vote. Even if the owners of apartments in a multi-story building voted to maintain the previous 1/9 system, it would not change anything. In any case, they would have to pay for the consumed tempo energy all year round. Representatives of the state housing inspection should monitor the situation.
In Berdsk, the regional leadership's innovation was received ambiguously. According to some city residents, the transition to the 1/12 system will still not be able to significantly improve the financial well-being of ordinary people. In addition, people are perplexed: why then are meters of consumed thermal energy installed in houses? However, the latter can be explained simply. Installing metering devices will allow people to pay for the amount of heat they actually consume.
The city leadership believes that Berdsk residents should be given the right to make their own choices. That is, citizens themselves must decide how they will pay for heating - all year round or only during the heating season. It should be borne in mind here that almost 100 percent of Berdsk houses are equipped with meters. In this regard, the majority of residents of Berdsk prefer to pay for consumed thermal energy upon delivery. Metering devices were not installed in only 70 houses due to lack of technical capabilities. Taking into account all the factors listed above, as well as the opinion of ordinary people, city officials nevertheless compiled a reasoned appeal on this issue addressed to the governor and sent it to the head of the region.
The opposite situation has developed in other regions of the country. For example, starting from July 1 of this year, the Krasnoyarsk Territory switched to a system of payment for consumed thermal energy only during the heating season. Irina Morgunova, who heads the economics and planning department in the administration of Zheleznogorsk ZATO, explained to local journalists back in the spring that in June payments for heating would still be charged, while in July, August and September there would be no monthly fee for this housing and communal services service.
She also drew attention to one rather important point. Morgunova explained that according to Resolution No. 400 of the Russian government, the amount of compensation will be reduced first of all. Therefore, the reduction in payments in the summer may not be as significant as many expected. Here everything depends on one thing - what amount of compensation a particular consumer had. A significant reduction will be seen only by those who paid for utilities, including heating, in full.
