The amount of the fine for organizations supplying light, heating or water in case of poor performance of their duties will be increased by at least three times, and for officials – at least 10. A two-stage system of sanctions is being introduced to resource supply organizations (RSO): for the first violation, the amount of an administrative fine for individual officials will be 5 to 10 thousand rubles, legal entities – 30 to 50 thousand. And in case of repeat offenses, the fine will increase to 15-30 thousand and 50-200 thousand rubles, respectively.
Increasing fines for public services will increase their responsibility to consumers, Galina Karelova, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Self-Government and Northern Affairs, told Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
So far, the fines paid by the RSO are negligible. The maximum amount for an official is only one thousand rubles, for an organization – 10 thousand. “They haven’t changed in over 15 years! Numerous complaints from citizens confirm that these insignificant amounts for organizations and employees not only do not affect the quality of services, but also allow them to abuse their powers,” the senator noted.
According to her, fines for violation of the regime of supply and quality of public resources necessary for the provision of public services to the population are regularly paid by the vast majority of RSOs. “Not feeling the pressure of this measure, they often use their capabilities as a tool to collect debts and influence management companies by not providing heat or hot water. There are thousands of cases where residents were left without heat and hot water due to such arbitrariness. “Any fine is intended to be a preventive measure that reduces the risk of repeated violations, but in this case it does not work,” Karelova said. She is confident that the new measures will increase the responsibility of utility companies towards consumers and protect the rights of citizens.
