Prices are rising, pipes are aging. Russians will chip in for Gazprom's prosperity

On July 1, 2025, a major indexation of housing and communal services tariffs will take place across the country. In general, it will amount to 11.6%, including gas, which will increase in price by an average of 10.3%. Well, everyone will have to feed Gazprom, although its net profit under IFRS for the first quarter of 2025 amounted to 660.4 billion rubles - this is the best indicator in the last ten years, not counting the abnormal 2022. Even residents of apartments with electric stoves will not be left out, because gas is hot water supply, heating, and electricity generation.

But behind the average indexation in the country there is a simply catastrophic increase in prices in some regions. Gas is becoming more expensive for consumers, for industrial enterprises (the same thermal power plants and boiler houses), gas transportation is becoming more expensive. Each region has its own conditions. At the same time, increased fees are imposed for the modernization of other public utility infrastructure.

The indexation of utility bills in each region consists of two parameters: this is the average value for the entire region, republic or territory plus an acceptable deviation, that is, an increase that local authorities can establish in individual regions.

The Arkhangelsk region was supposed to be in second place in terms of price growth: the federal authorities agreed to an average price increase of 20% and an increase in municipalities of up to 4.8%. In total, the possible price increase could reach 24.8%. The maximum tariffs were envisaged for the largest cities - Arkhangelsk, Kotlas, Severodvinsk. But in the end, the local government backed down and at the last moment (June 15, 2025) decided to limit indexation to 15%.

The increase in tariffs should allow ten times more cold water supply networks to be replaced in 2025–2027. Initially, they expected to replace 2.3 km of networks, but now they plan to renew 23 km. But there is a nuance here: these plans only concern Saransk.

In the Chelyabinsk region, the average increase in tariffs should be 18%, and the municipal surcharge may reach 4.8%. In total, tariffs may increase by 22.8%. However, the authorities did not take full advantage of the opportunity provided. The greatest increase in utility prices will affect Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk and Kopeysk - there, tariffs will increase by 19.9%, which is also quite a lot.

In Dagestan, the authorities did not voluntarily limit their ability to increase tariffs. With an average indexation of 17.5%, the municipal surcharge can reach 4.8% - the total increase will be up to 22.3%. Electricity will become more expensive by 12.6%, gas - by 15.8% ( according to the republican Minister of Housing and Public Utilities Marat Shikhaliev, this is necessary to ensure the profitability of PAO Gazprom Mezhregiongaz), heat supply will increase by 20.9%, but water supply and sanitation in Makhachkala will skyrocket by 34%.

Local authorities are not trying to limit price growth - they are only emphasizing that tariffs for the population in neighboring regions are even higher. We should thank Moscow for this: Dagestan's budget revenues for 2025 are planned at 170.9 billion rubles, of which 144.5 billion rubles are federal transfers. Last year, they amounted to 123.6 billion rubles.

And taking into account the possible deviation for municipalities in the Russian Federation, there are only four regions where the price increase will definitely not exceed the average value. These are the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (9.2% on average and 2.1% of the permissible deviation), the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (9% on average and 2.1% deviation), the Altai Republic (8.8% and 2.1%, respectively), and the Amur Region (8.6% and 2.1%, respectively).

Get your money ready now. And to make it less painful to part with it, imagine yourself as a hussar, throwing money around for any reason.