Research and filling gaps in the state regulation of the price on the heat-transfer agent in a region

Introduction: setting a fair state price for energy supply companies in Russia's regions is of great importance both for the consumers (natural and legal persons) and for the regulated organizations themselves. A too high price may threaten the consumers' wellbeing, whereas if the set rate is low, the natural monopolist will not be able to effectively carry out the current work and to modernize the existing facilities. Materials and Methods: the study used the materials from a rate and administrative cases that were pending in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. General scientific methods were used: those of analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction, as well as the methods set forth in the Methodological Instructions on Calculation of Regulated Prices (rates) in the Sphere of a Heat Supply. Results: the paper proposes ways to fill the gaps in the state regulation of the price on the heat-transfer agent (hot water) exemplified by the expert calculation of the amount of the required gross revenue for the energy supply company of Mari Heat Network Company LLC (the city of Volzhsk). Discussion and Conclusions: the author gives an interpretation of the concept of "fair rate" and defines the methodological foundations of its introduction; the paper resolves the legally unsettled issue of the correct definition of "shortfall in income"; it identifies a gap in the regulation associated with the procedure of settling accounts with consumers in the inter-rate interval and outlines the way for the future actions of a natural monopoly and the anti-trust authorities.