In Yekaterinburg, the water tariff will be cut in half.

      REK plans to lower the water tariff for Yekaterinburg’s Vodokanal.

      The Sverdlovsk Regional Energy Commission (REK) has prepared a draft decree to revise the tariff for drinking water supplied by the municipal unitary enterprise Vodokanal. The document has been published for public discussion and is undergoing an anti-corruption review, 66.RU reports.

      If the changes are approved, from October 15 the price per cubic meter of drinking water for residents of Yekaterinburg will be 27 rubles 80 kopecks (including VAT). The new tariff will be in effect until the end of 2025.

      According to the company, in the first half of the year the price was 44 rubles 59 kopecks per cubic meter, and from July it rose to 51 rubles 77 kopecks. Thus, after the decree is approved the cost may be reduced by almost half.

      Vodokanal has so far not commented on the reasons for this decision. The tariff also includes an investment surcharge, which the company uses to implement programs to modernize the water supply networks.

      Earlier the Prosecutor General’s Office accused Oblkommunenergo — a company undergoing nationalization — of inflating tariffs. It should be recalled that REK is the body that approves the rates for the region’s utility companies.