Formation of Territorial Heat Supply Systems in the Northern and Arctic Regions of Russia

The article deals with the most important problems of the communal complex in the subjects of the Far North and the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The main attention is paid to the aspects of formation of territorial heat supply systems, which are the basic components of the infrastructure of life support in harsh polar natural and climatic conditions. The impact of the growth of utility tariffs on the structure of consumer spending of households in the northern and arctic regions is assessed. It is shown that the state of the municipal energy sector determines the formation of the socio-economic environment and investment attractiveness of the Arctic municipalities. Its renewal and modernization are the main conditions that contribute to reducing the rate of migration outflow of the local population, increasing industrial production and the state military–strategic presence in this important macro-region. Despite the predominance of energy sector specialization in the list of leading industrial enterprises, the presence of the necessary fuel and raw materials base and increased inflow of investment resources in the energy sector, there is further obsolescence and reduction of fixed assets of municipal energy supply units as well as the highest level of utility consumer costs in comparison with all-Russian indicators. The conclusion about the loss of previously available territorial infrastructure advantages of the Russian Arctic regions is substantiated: there has been a reduction in the total number of heat sources, territorial energy production, the length of heat communication networks. The increase of these energy threats is a factor limiting the socio-economic growth of Russia’s northern and arctic territories.