Rules for the organization and regulation of utilitieswater supply in recent years have undergone a number of changes. One of the innovations was the mandatory introduction of meters in all regions of Russia. Although recommendations for the installation of settlement devices have been operating for several years, to this day, far from all owners of residential properties have acquired them. In addition, questions remain about how profitable the meter is to the water, whether or not to install this device. In some cases, its economic feasibility is questioned, and not everyone is familiar with its registration procedure.
Development of a draft law affectingthe need to install meters was completed in 2013. At that time, the percentage of owners who provided communications with a calculating device did not exceed 60%. For this reason, no sanctions were imposed on the other users of the resource. Since 2014, the project was launched, in accordance with which the mandatory installation of water meters (Law 261) was held with the support of utilities. Payment rates for those who did not have metering devices were regulated in accordance with the standards established by local authorities. By 2015, the availability of the counter did not simply become mandatory - in the case of its absence, the percentage allowances were allowed as a fine.
From the current year the amount of utility payment forcitizens who did not show consciousness regarding the installation of the counter, increased by 10%. This charge refers to the consumer standard for each quarter. It is noteworthy that the lack of a meter has a negative impact not only on the water metering system, but also on bona fide citizens. This is the reason for the support of the law by many private consumers. The fact is that if the calculation is carried out according to the old model, then the payment is made, roughly speaking, at average tariffs and does not depend on the actual consumption volumes. That is, it is imperative to put water meters on in order to optimize the distribution of costs among residents: each person pays as much as he consumes.
Equipping communication infrastructureindividual metering for hot and cold water applies to all owners of residential properties in Russia. The only discrepancy in the forms of this operation relates to the category of the population that is represented by tenants of state real estate. If the tenant has a social contract on his hands, then the city utilities should deal with the implementation of the device, using funds from the budget. In other cases, the installation of water meters is required for property owners. It is important to note that in the first period of the law, programs were provided for assistance in the technical and financial part of updating the aqueduct. Today, every owner takes all the expenses on himself.
Specific numbers vary withregion and city. In large metropolitan areas, which include Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Samara, etc., water metering devices cost 3-6 thousand rubles. Strangely enough, the cost in the provinces and small towns increases to 8 thousand. Considering that it is in such areas that people with the lowest income level live, the regional authorities provide an installment plan for which a water meter is purchased. Be sure or not to take the costs in this part of the retirees and other beneficiaries - another controversial issue. In some regions, the installation for the owners of this group is paid from the budget, in others the coverage is just from the interest collected in the form of fines.
Unfortunately, with the tightening of measures to combatThe “deviationists” are also increasing the rates for plumber services - high demand, respectively, creates conditions for the growth of tariffs in this area. Nevertheless, the question of whether water meters are required is not worth it even against the background of rising equipment prices and unfavorable installation conditions from local utilities.
Abuse of local utilities - nota rarity in Russia. Virtually every innovation in the rules of management and operation of the housing stock is accompanied by a mass of rumors and the appearance of false information. In this case, there are examples when housing associations, partnerships and management companies notify owners that they need to buy water meters, be sure to install and register them strictly before a certain date. In part, this is a fair recommendation, but organizations do not have the right to impose their services, suggesting that they enter into an agreement with them to purchase meters from a specific manufacturer. Moreover, installation through independent companies is cheaper.
Покупку счетчика можно осуществить самостоятельно or on the basis of an agreement with a specialized company. The second option is more convenient because the list of services indicated in the contract can also include an analysis of the characteristics of the water supply system and installation itself. Modern installation of water meters necessarily includes a whole set of additional components with consumables - these expenses should also be prepared, otherwise the quality of the installed apparatus will suffer and it will not be accepted.
Опять же для экономии желательно избегать cooperation with the management company and public utilities, since their services are often more expensive and the quality is lower. The third-party organization will perform the same list of works, will give a guarantee and will make the necessary adjustment of the device. At this stage, when inspecting in-house engineering, one more question may arise: "Are water meters obligatory if there is no common home metering device?" According to the rules, this flaw is not the reason why the meter cannot be installed.
In terms of formal nuances, it is important to note thatthe management company must still receive a corresponding statement about the installation of the meter. By the way, utilities, partnerships and governing bodies are aware that it is necessary to install water meters in the house, so there will most likely not be additional obstacles at this stage. The owner is issued technical documents, according to which specialists will select the device model and connect it. It is also necessary to agree on the time of disconnection and connection of the engineering system at the time of installation.
All efforts to update the accounting systemwater consumption may be in vain if you incorrectly arrange the meter for water. The device must be registered, since the result of its work is of no importance if the representative of the management company of the company did not issue the relevant documents. The device must be registered within a month from the date of its installation. The examiner must record the results of the reception of the counter in a special act. This document is made up in three copies - for the representative of the inspection organization, for the owner of the house and the company that carried out the installation. The act of acceptance is the basis for the transition to a new procedure for calculating the payment for water.
New utility requirementssystems, and in particular changes in pricing approaches, rarely have positive feedback from users. It was also perceived innovation with respect to metering devices - many still do not know whether to install a meter on the water. Required or not? Unfortunately, citizens have no alternative - sooner or later it will have to be installed. However, its presence will not increase the cost of water. For the authorities, the introduction of this device will allow to optimize the resource consumption calculation system, but for an ordinary person this is quite a real savings.
According to various research companies,depending on the operating conditions, the meter can reduce costs by up to 48%. For this reason, many water utilities are in no hurry to install meters, because using them will mean reducing revenues. But even despite these shortcomings, the question of whether the installation of water meters is mandatory is not worth it. Federal and local authorities are still interested in the most accurate metering of water consumption.
In the usual schemes of calculation and technicalwater consumption management operation provides savings. But there are cases when the effectiveness of metering devices is questioned. One of the problems associated with the difference in actual consumption and nominal, from which consists the amount of payment according to the standard. So, according to the old scheme in an apartment where one person lives, the payment provides for the amount charged per consumer. If, in fact, 3 people live in the house, the fee will still be calculated for one.
The counter changes the system, causingthe need to pay for the actual consumption of water, that is, the number of living people does not matter - the entire volume will fix the meter on the water. Is it necessary or not to install the device in this case? Yes, because actual resource accounting is important. Another thing is that problems can arise in communal apartments, where it is impossible to calculate who and how much water has spent, and the meter readings will be presented in one digit.
There are other kinds of problems associated withexploitation of shabby communication systems. In the houses of the old housing stock, as a rule, pipelines have an unsatisfactory technical condition. In principle, this aspect does not change anything, but the cost of the event for installing a metering device increases markedly. And again, many people doubt - is it necessary to install water meters in old buildings if the pipes themselves and the basic infrastructure are in poor condition? There is only one way out - to replace the water supply. Unfortunately, this will have to be done on its own and for its own money. This is undoubtedly the main disadvantage of installing the meter, but the owner will be sure that the new system will not cause problems at the most unexpected moment. Updating communications is not superfluous, but it reduces the risk of accidents.
An interesting fact, but before the adoption of the law,which obliges water users to install meters, the number of followers of the accounting system was impressive. Many have already appreciated its benefit, although there are still doubts about the economic advantage that water meters provide. Be sure to install before you need to calculate the technical capabilities of the existing water supply system, so as not to be disappointed in the transition to the actual calculation of water consumption. As the practice of operating gas and electric meters shows, this approach is justified. Of course, there are cases that show low efficiency or even the impossibility of such accounting, but then the old system is by no means perfect.
