Officials want to unite about 120 organizations

Photo: RBC

The authorities of the Leningrad region want to centralize about 120 organizations responsible for water supply networks. As Kommersant writes , the initiators were energy workers, for whom such a merger would ease the situation with the water complex’s debt for energy resources.

The press service of the Vice-Governor, Yuri Pakhomovsky, who oversees housing and communal services and the fuel and energy complex, explains the need to centralize the water supply system by the fact that, according to the law “On Water Supply and Sanitation”, from January 1 next year, water supply and sanitation facilities in municipalities whose service life exceeds five years must be transferred into concession. However, it is difficult to attract investors to small, remote sites. This problem can be solved by centralization within a single enterprise, which involves the creation of local branches.

It is planned that this will be an open joint stock company with 100% capital of the Leningrad region. The founder and managing body in such cases is the regional KUGI.

According to the publication, the original initiator of the idea was the Petersburg Sales Company OJSC, for which such consolidation could simplify the situation with the growing debt of water supply enterprises. Their debt currently amounts to more than 207 million rubles.

Meanwhile, some local developers are not enthusiastic about the idea. Vice President of NAI Becar Ilya Andreev told Kommersant that although it is easier to work with one organization, the disadvantage of any reorganization is the termination or suspension of ongoing work. Mark Okun, General Director of the Otdelstroy Insurance Company, says: “Finding itself in the role of a monopolist, a single structure may not be able to resist taking advantage of its position. Of course, this area needs to be developed, but using exclusively market mechanisms.” Another anonymous developer calls the officials’ proposal completely meaningless. He says that if it is implemented, local companies will not disappear, because almost every developer makes his own water supply system, and this can be solved within the microdistrict.

Developers are afraid of the possible centralization of the Leningrad region water utility