Residents of Petropavlovsk are complaining about inflated bills for heating and electricity. According to them, utility prices in the region have jumped by 20%.
According to Astana.kz, residents received their heating service bills last week. They claim that besides high prices for heat energy, the tariff for electricity has also increased.
"Electricity has certainly gone up. I paid 18,000 in winter, now it's 22,000. I have a three-bedroom flat," a local resident reported.
In turn, the head of the department of the committee for regulating natural monopolies in the North Kazakhstan Region, Damir Toktamyssov, stated that the last increase in the electricity tariff was in February, and for heating at the end of September.
"In Petropavlovsk, the tariff was changed from 23 September of this year. The main reasons are changes in the cost of heat energy production by JSC 'Sevkazenego', as well as the transportation of heat energy through the networks of 'Petropavlovsk Heat Networks'. For this company, the change was from 1 July of this year. Accordingly, for 'Sevkazenrgosbyt', this is grounds for applying to the authorised body, as the Law on Natural Monopolies allows natural monopoly entities to apply to the authorised body once a year to change the cost of strategic goods," he stated.
The department noted that those consumers whose bills raise doubts can contact the monopolist to request clarification on the charges made.
"In case of disagreement or refusal, file an application with the Antimonopoly Department," the statement reads.
It will be recalled that earlier it was reported that, based on June results, electricity in Kazakhstan became more expensive by 0.2% over the month and by 31.7% over the year. The West Kazakhstan Region was 'to blame' for the monthly increase, where tariffs rose by 7.9%, while in other regions they remained at the level of the previous month.