Military energy bills rocketing
Military towns and units in the Kola Peninsula might soon see their energy bills skyrocket.
After several years of unchanged rates, the tariffs on heating for the garrisons in the region now look set to increase significantly, Deputy Governor Aleksandr Cherechecha highlighted in a seminar last week. Speaking to presidential envoy to Northwest Russia Nikolai Vinnichenko, the deputy governor said that the providers of the heating intend to introduce new tariff rates which range between 5000 RUB and several tens of thousands of rubles per gigacalorie.
The current tariffs are between 1400-1700 RUB, Regnum reports.
The tariff increase will hit hard on the already heavily indebted military towns, of which there are several in the region. As BarentsObserver has reported, energy companies have on several occasions turned off the heating supplies to the towns because of unpaid bills.
Read also:Another freezing winter for the military?
Vinnichenko, who earlier this month took over the post as presidential envoy to Northwest Russia, has previously warned against the low level of winter preparations among several of the military units in the region. During his visit to Murmansk last week, this concern was addressed in a seminar organized together with representatives of regional authorities and energy companies, a press release informs.
Deputy Governor Cherechecha in the seminar confirmed that the heating tariffs can be regulated within the frames settled by the federal government, according to which the tariff increase in 2011 should be a maximum of 14 percent and 10 percent in 2012.
-We have held consultations with the Ministry of Defence [on tariff regulations], but these have not given any results, Cherechecha said.
Nikolai Vinnichenko in the meeting confirmed that he now will seek to get a resolution to the problem.
Read also:Most unpaid bills in Murmansk
Murmansk Oblast has five closed military towns a number of military units, several of them located near the border to Norway and Finland. The biggest of the closed towns, Severomorsk, hosts the headquarters of the powerful Northern Fleet.
