New "rules of the game" for the formation and approval of economically justified tariffs

The Supreme Council enshrined the concept of the maximum level of tariffs for the services of enterprises in the sphere of natural monopolies and improved the procedure for state regulation of prices for their goods and services at the level of law. The authors of the legislative initiative “On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic “On Prices (Tariffs) and Pricing” were a group of deputies, one of them is the Chairman of Parliament Alexander Korshunov.

Tariffs for utilities remain at the same level several years in Pridnestrovie. The state has been paying enterprises in the sphere of natural monopolies (supplying gas, electricity, heat and water to the population) the so-called inter-tariff difference from the funds of the republican budget since 2019. This is the difference between the real, economically justified tariff for the cost of services and the actual price paid by the population. Thus, the state incurs payment of up to 40% of the actual size of tariffs for utilities.

According to the parliamentarians, the adopted law-in-draft will allow to restrain the growth of tariffs of enterprises in the sphere of natural monopolies, and will not lead to an infinite increase in additional expenses of the republican budget to pay off the inter-tariff difference accordingly.

The inter-tariff difference mechanism was introduced so that utility companies would not incur losses due to shortfalls in funds and could not only pay wages to employees, but implement investment programs, upgrade infrastructure and production facilities. The calculated amount of the inter-tariff difference for 2021 according to the regulations of the Government is 192 million rubles. 86 million rubles were funded from the state budget.

The speaker emphasized that next year the economically justified tariff for the services of natural monopoly enterprises (gas, heat, water and light) will be calculated in accordance with the norms of the adopted law. Then the Supreme Council will be able to assess what is the real need for funds from the republican budget to compensate for the inter-tariff difference between the economically justified, already calculated according to the new rules of the game, tariff and the cost of utilities paid by the population.

The Law “On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic “On Prices (Tariffs) and Pricing” was adopted by the Supreme Council in the final reading.