Residents of houses with heating meters might find slightly higher amounts in their January bills due to snowfalls and frosts. But not by much. This opinion was expressed in a conversation with 116.RU by Mikhail Zastela, head of the regional Center for Public Control in the Housing and Utilities Sector in the Republic of Tatarstan.
«This month, the weather is unusual only in terms of snow. But Epiphany frosts (a period of cold weather around Orthodox Epiphany) in January have always been there. Further, according to the forecast, on average -10 degrees Celsius (14°F). There are houses that pay by meter. And there»s always a spike [in cost] when it«s frosty. When the frosts end, they heat less. There won»t be a significant [increase],« noted Zastela.
It is possible to save on heating, but in apartment buildings, it«s difficult to do so.
«You can save if the whole house saves. For example, keeping the windows closed in the entrance, as that also wastes heat. Simply, the heat supplier needs to maintain a certain temperature in the heating network depending on external temperatures, to adhere to the temperature schedule,» recommended the expert.
Zastela believes that Tatarstan residents will not face overpayments because every month there is a reconciliation of housing and utilities payments and a reconciliation of issued bills.
«At the end of the heating season, there is also a final reconciliation. In old housing stock, there won»t be overpayments either. In fact, people have always complained. They don«t want to pay. And if we look at how much they pay abroad, we»ll see that we«re not paying that much now,» the expert pointed out.
On January 1, housing and utilities tariffs across the country increased by 1.7%. This is related to the increase in VAT by 2%. In October, tariffs will increase for the second time. In Tatarstan — by 13.4%.
