Alexander Grunichev: ‘We would like to live to see a bright future when tariffs are reduced’

The outflow of personnel from housing and communal services enterprises, rising gas prices, modernisation of utility infrastructure

From 1 July 2025, utility tariffs will increase significantly in Tatarstan. According to the decree signed by Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, the average maximum permissible increase index will be 17.5%. However, in large cities such as Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny, tariffs will increase by 22.3%. This is significantly more than last year, when the indexation was 10.8% in small towns and 15.7% in all cities and towns of the republic.

“Applications from large resource supplying organizations for the current period — 2025 were declared with an increase of almost two times from the existing tariffs for 2024,” said Chairman of the State Committee of Tatarstan on Tariffs Alexander Grunichev at the beginning of the press conference on 26 December.

The rates changed due to five reasons, he explained. Firstly, this is the outflow of personnel from enterprises in the housing and communal services sector. The problem, according to the speaker, is a determining factor in the tariff campaign not only for 2025, but also for previous and subsequent ones.

“This problem is not the first year. We have been dealing with it since 2022, gradually increasing the growth of wages at enterprises. <...> We have a task set by the rais of the republic and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan, so that we bring the average wage level at enterprises to the average level in the district. It is desirable, of course, for it to be higher,” he said.

To date, this goal has not yet been achieved, Grunichev complained. He expressed hope that it will be possible to raise average salaries to the required level by 2027.

“The next basic factor is a significant increase in the price of gas, fuel for resource supplying enterprises that supply heat and hot water to the population,” said the chairman of the State Tariff Committee.

He emphasised that in the calculations for enterprises that include cost growth for subsequent periods, the minimum prices for gas were taken.

Another 3% growth in the tariff component was provided by the program for the modernization of public utility infrastructure:

The Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation sets the task of increasing the replacement of public utility infrastructure to 3% annually from 2025. To date, we have provided an average of about 2% in the republic. For 2024, 1% was provided.

Grunichev recalled that Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov announced a republican program for the modernization of housing and communal infrastructure. The budget of the Republic of Tatarstan will allocate 10 billion rubles for these purposes starting next year. “This is a significant investment, which, in our opinion, has allowed us to significantly limit the growth of tariffs,” the speaker said.

“If your electricity is turned off and not restored within half an hour or an hour, a whole story begins. We are used to receiving a quality service. It cannot be cheap, that's for sure. It costs according to an economically justified tariff, which we approve together with you, Grunichev highlighted.

Changes in the tax system and the introduction of new communal facilities

The speaker called two more reasons for the tariff change additional. First of all, these are changes in tax legislation — the addition of VAT for enterprises that worked under the simplified system:

“Of course, this entails a certain increase in tariffs. Only the impact of VAT on tariffs is 10.5%. You can see for yourself that these are not small figures.”

Grunichev added that work on biological treatment facilities (BTF) is planned to be completed in 2025. According to him, in order to reduce utility rates, it is necessary to build wastewater disposal networks and connect all new consumers to BTF as much as possible.

“We hope that if this happens, in the 15 districts where they are installed, there will only be a reduction in tariffs in the future,” the speaker said.

The last factor that influenced prices in individual municipalities was the introduction of new utility infrastructure facilities. Grunichev cited Nurlat as an example, where almost a billion rubles were invested in a new water supply system. “Energy consumption is also growing there,” he noted.

At the end of the press conference, a question was asked: are there any forecasts for when utility rates will begin to decrease?

“We would like to live to see this bright future, when tariffs will decrease or be at a minimum level. God willing, given Health and Longevity national project, we will definitely live to see it,” the speaker joked in response.