19 August 2026

Twenty-five percent of Russian residents regularly experience problems with utility services, Mikhail Kuznetsov, head of the People’s Front executive committee, told President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects. “Up to a quarter of citizens experience interruptions in heating, hot water, and other services,” he said, according to TASS.

According to Kuznetsov, additional frustration among citizens stems from the difficulty  in obtaining repayments for unprovided or poor-quality services: this requires obtaining a report from the management company or utility provider. Kuznetsov noted that the problem is particularly acute during prolonged outages, including those caused by the Ukrainian attacks. He proposed automatically recalculating bills in such cases based on meter readings or dispatch logs, eliminating the need for citizens to file complaints and complete additional paperwork.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the depreciation of public utility infrastructure in Russia exceeds 40%, reaching  80% in some regions. In recent years, the country has regularly experienced major accidents, leaving tens of thousands of people without heat, water, or electricity. Meanwhile, most regions have cut their public utility budgets at least once since the start of the war in Ukraine, and the infrastructure is aging faster than it can be updated, said Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

He also noted that approximately 30% of enterprises in the sector are unprofitable and proposed raising tariffs to address the problem. By the end of this year, they  will increase by an average  of 9.9%, by 8.7% in 2027, by 7.1% in 2028, and by another 6.1% in 2029.  According to the Accounts Chamber, housing and utilities will account for approximately 10% of all Russian consumer spending in 2025.

https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/08/19/putinu-dolozhili-opereboyah-sotopleniem-ivodoi-ukazhdogo-chetvertogo-rossiyanina-a203892