Yekaterinburg authorities warned of 'unpopular' measures in the housing and utilities sector.

      To solve the task of renewing the communal infrastructure in Yekaterinburg, the city will probably have to take unpopular measures involving tariff increases. This was said at a panel session of the "Cities of Russia" forum by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Communal Services and Improvement Vladimir Geiko. Reported by EAN.

      "We are falling behind in repair volumes. This year we managed to replace about 87 kilometers of heating and water supply networks — and that is by no means the best figure. Previously we modernized twice as much. The situation is affected by rising material costs and a shortage of labor," Geiko explained.

      He noted that current tariffs are more of a socio-political nature. For a full renewal of the networks according to standards, they need to be market-based and cover the real costs of resource-supplying organizations.

      According to him, over the next three years it is necessary to reach renewal rates of around 100 kilometers of heating networks annually. To that end, Yekaterinburg has moved into a new pricing zone, which gives the right to raise the heat tariff above the limits set by the Government of the Russian Federation.

      Earlier it became known how much utility services will become more expensive in 2026 in the Sverdlovsk Region.