Utility bills rose across the North Caucasus on 1 October. The average increase across the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) was 14.5% — almost 2.7 percentage points higher than in the rest of Russia. The national average stands at around 12%.

The steepest increases were recorded in Stavropol Krai, where tariffs rose by 22%, and Dagestan, where they went up by 19.7%. The index stood at 16.3% in North Ossetia and 12.6% in Karachay-Cherkessia. Utility bills increased by an average of 11.9% in Ingushetia, 9.6% in Kabardino-Balkaria and 9.2% in Chechnya. This means that four of the NCFD’s seven regions recorded increases above the national average. Dagestan ranked third among all Russian federal subjects, while Stavropol Krai came first.

For comparison, the average increase in Adygea, which is geographically part of the North Caucasus but does not belong to the North Caucasus Federal District, was 9.6%.

The increases varied not only between the republics but also within individual regions. The government allowed additional deviations from the established indices for certain municipalities. In Stavropol Krai, for example, the permitted deviation is 21.9 percentage points, allowing the maximum index in some municipalities to reach 43.9%.

This year, the main round of utility tariff increases took place later than usual. In 2024 and 2025, tariffs went up on 1 July. In 2026, however, the increase was postponed until 1 October — after the September elections to the State Duma. Tariffs across the country had already risen by a preliminary 1.7% on 1 January, but the main increase in household bills came after the vote.

The official explanation for the postponement was the need to synchronise changes in household utility tariffs with rising energy costs for companies providing public services. However, observers directly linked the decision to political considerations, arguing that the authorities did not want to raise utility bills immediately before the election. This interpretation was supported by sources in the State Duma and regional administrations who spoke to the independent Russian outlet Verstka. One MP explained the reasoning behind the delay as a desire to avoid “making people angry with them all over again just before the election”.