A New Crisis in the Energy and Utilities and Housing Sector Has Begun in Russia

The government of the rf has postponed until 2028 the modernization and restoration of critical infrastructure facilities – 14 thermal power plants with a total capacity of 4.1 GW. The reasons for this are delays in the supply of critical equipment (much of which was previously imported) and decreased funding.

Among the facilities whose modernization has been postponed are key generating facilities controlled by such giants as Inter RAO and Unipro. In particular, the commissioning of new units at Iriklinskiy, Nizhnevartovsk and Perm SDPPs, as well as at Surgut SDPP-2, has been postponed for at least three years. Similar delays have affected Kostroma SDPP and a number of Bashkir facilities.

Despite the shortage of equipment, priority will be given to supplying equipment to power plants in the regions where the most severe generation shortage is expected, in particular in Yakutia and Rostov region.

The decline in available generation has led to an increase in prices both in the rf’s electricity market and in the utilities and housing sector in general. It is planned that this year, utility tariffs in russia will increase by an average of 11.9 %.

Besides, the postponement of modernization poses risks to the reliability of energy supply in a number of key industrial regions, including Orenburg, Kostroma and Tyumen regions, as well as the Republic of Bashkortostan.