Consolidation of regional utilities companies to allow cutting tariffs, says commission
The consolidation of regional utilities companies will cut the cost of the services rendered by them and allow the setting of a single tariff in a particular region, Head of the National Commission for Regulation of Utilities Market Services Valeriy Saratov has said.
"If there is a large gap between tariffs in one region, then centralization should be carried out and regional utilities companies should consolidate," the commission's press service said, citing Saratov.
Thus, he said that expenses on administrative servicing of the companies will fall and there could be the opportunity to set a single regional tariff for utility services.
He said that a similar practice of merger, in particular, by water supply companies, was introduced in Kirovohrad region via the consolidation of water supply and sewage companies in Znamianka, Oleksandria and Svitlovodsk into a single company – Dnipro-Kirovohrad regional municipal industrial company (Kirovohrad).
Thanks to the merger, the price of water for households fell by 46% in the towns of the region, particularly, in Znamianka, he added.
Saratov also said at an open meeting of the commission held on January 25, 2013 that the commission supports the merger of republican water supply and sewage companies in Crimea into Water of Crimea republican company on the basis of the Industrial Enterprise of the Water Supply and Sewage Sector of Simferopol (both based in Simferopol).
Director General of the Industrial Enterprise of the Water Supply and Sewage Sector of Simferopol, Viktor Skoblikov said at the meeting of the commission that the merger of water supply companies into one company would be finished by March 1, 2013.
The reorganization of Crimean republican water supply and sewage companies into Water of Crimea enterprise has been approved by resolution No. 95-e of January 28, 2012 of the Council of Ministers of Crimea.
The National Commission for Regulation of Utilities Market Services was established under a presidential decree in 2011 and sets utilities rates under the procedure of their formation approved by the National Commission for Energy Regulation.
