Yakutia's housing utility reaches national finals amid crippling debt crisis

Yakutia’s state-owned housing and utilities provider, GUP ZhKKh RS(Y), has reached the finals of the nationwide Leaders of Russia. Team 2025–2026 competition. The contest drew over 75,000 participants, but only 1,400 individuals in 280 teams advanced to the final stage. GUP ZhKKh RS(Y) entered the Corporate Management Teams category. Its team, consisting of Grigory Gurin, Oksana Vasilyeva, Tatyana Tartakynova, Nikolai Mikhalev, and Pavel Yemelyanov, competed against representatives from major companies like Rosatom, Rosneft, Roscosmos, and Sberbank.

Despite this achievement, the provider faces serious financial trouble. It owes PAO DEK more than 1 billion rubles ($11 million) for electricity, a record debt among the 112,000 enterprises DEK serves in the Far Eastern Federal District. DEK has already filed claims totalling 993 million rubles, with court rulings securing 352 million rubles so far.

Payments for the first five months of this year cover only 52.1% of bills. This marks a drop of 20.8 percentage points compared to the same period last year. As a result, 242 boiler houses operated by GUP ZhKKh RS(Y) now face electricity supply restrictions. The debt crisis has led to electricity supply cuts for GUP ZhKKh RS(Y)'s facilities. The provider’s financial struggles continue despite its team’s success in the national competition. DEK’s legal action and unpaid bills highlight the severity of the situation.