Electricity is a critical resource used by billions of people and businesses around the world every day. Appliances, computers, kitchen equipment, factories - everything depends on the consumption of electrical energy. But the resource is not free - you must pay the management company monthly for the kilowatts used. Debt for utilities may entail the accrual of penalties for electricity, partial or complete restrictions on energy consumption in the form of shutting it off for an indefinite period .
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Turning off the lights in an apartment: on what basis can residents be deprived of electricity?
Residents who are dishonest about fulfilling their obligations to pay for utility services, namely electricity, will receive a warning in the form of a power outage act.
Find out how you can write off debts for utilities (housing and communal services).
The company’s decision to terminate the contract for the supply of utilities is made based on the following factors:
- If residents have not paid for electricity for 2 or 3 months (or more). There are no strict sanctions for monthly non-payment of electricity bills - the debt is transferred to the next month.
- If there was an unauthorized connection to utilities without notifying the house management.
- Disruption of the power supply process. For example, due to termination of a contract.
- The need for scheduled and emergency repairs. Power engineers are required to notify that they want to turn off the electricity at least 24 hours before carrying out repairs. The duration of work should not exceed 24 hours. During the year, specialists have the right to temporarily turn off the lights in the apartment no more than 3 times, notifying residents in advance before each moment. An office that turns the lights on and off more often than established limits violates the standards for the provision of housing and communal services.
- By court order to terminate the supply of electrical energy.
- Electricians are not allowed to access the meter. Checking the condition, payment or repair work are standard procedures on the part of the management company.
One of the most common reasons is debt for electricity in an apartment or private house. It doesn’t matter whether the debt for electricity is 2 thousand or more: according to the law, energy sales terminate the contract on the basis of non-payment for 2 or more months, after prior notice to the residents.
To know about their rights, citizens must study on the basis of what law the management company makes a decision to deprive their living space of light. Relations between the consumer of utilities (tenant) and the supplier (housing association, housing office) are regulated by Russian Government Decrees 354 of 05/06/2011 and No. 442 of 06/04/2012.
What services can you call if there is no power?
Where to go if the power goes out without notice? If there is no electricity in the entire house, you can first contact the control room of the utility service provider or the chairman of the partnership if the house is part of an HOA.
If the above services do not have data, you should contact the energy saving organization on whose territory your apartment or house is located.
In large cities there are also Temporary Information Centers operating in a specific area. Their telephone numbers should also be provided to residents on information boards .
If there are people with disabilities in the family, it is important to know about benefits for utility bills. You can find it here.
It is also worth knowing that in cases where an unscheduled power outage without warnings on the information board leads to damage to property, citizens have the right to demand compensation for the resulting damage from the utility service provider and the energy-saving organization.
In such situations, victims are guided by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354 of 05/06/2011 on “Rules for the provision of utility services in apartment buildings and residential buildings.”
Important!!! The telephone numbers of all emergency services, the chairman of the HOA, the control room of the utility service provider and other important organizations should be posted on the information stand at the entrance.
The process of turning off electricity for non-payment: how does it happen?
No management company will turn off the lights without warning in a dormitory, apartment or private house. Before residents are deprived of the opportunity to use this type of housing and household services, the following actions are usually performed:
- Debts for housing and communal services are recorded for 2 or more months.
- The client receives a notification about the existence of a debt. The notification must contain: Full name. payer;
- individual personal account number;
- address;
- name of the management company;
- information about the debt: amount of non-payment, for how long the debts were issued, repayment period;
- consequences of ignoring this notice.
The management company is responsible for ensuring that the payer is aware of the need to repay debts for electricity. Information can be transmitted in one of the ways chosen by the energy sales company: by registered mail, via the client’s e-mail, courier delivery, by telephone, with a receipt for the next month, or during a personal visit by the payer to the housing and communal services office.
How to find out for what non-payment the power was turned off?
Residents whose electricity has been turned off for non-payment often do not know not only what to do and how to connect it back, but also have no idea what kind of debt they are talking about.
Citizens can find out all the information about the status of their personal account, the facts of payment and possible debts for utilities at the office of the Criminal Code. It is recommended to have with you an identification document (passport, foreign passport, military ID), payment receipts for the period of interest, checks or statements confirming the facts of payments.
We also recommend reading how to find out your rent arrears
Energy sales can answer for what period the fact of non-payment was established, what kind of real estate is meant (for example, residents forgot to pay for light in their country house).
If you don’t have time to visit the housing and communal services authorities, then you should study the payer’s personal account on the management company’s website. Customer account information is displayed after entering your login and password. The information in your Personal Account may differ from that provided by the company - the process of processing data and making some payments takes up to 2 days, this should be taken into account when considering recently completed transactions (no more than 3 days ago).
Online banking, which the client uses to quickly transfer funds to the supplier’s account, is also a way to check utility debts. If, when entering a personal account, a zero or negative value is displayed in the “debt” column, which means there is no debt to the management company (or overpayment).
In the absence of a response from the management company or the presence of an actual debt, payers have the right to go to court.
Electricity consumption was illegally cut off: what to do?
The payer, after receiving a document about the need to pay off debts for utilities, must check the correctness of the specified information - cases where the light was illegally turned off due to an error in the address or personal account are not uncommon.
Sometimes a company may send debts for non-payment without specifying the terms of payment. This is also a violation on the part of the supplier. Upon receipt of such notice, the customer should contact the energy company for clarification and specific payment instructions.
You can also ask our legal specialist a question.
What should you do if the lights in your apartment are turned off for debt without a court decision?
If the light is turned off for non-payment without notice, the residents of the house have the right to apply to the court for the resumption of service. Without a court decision, it will be almost impossible to restore the connection. You can attract the violating office in several ways:
- under Article 330 “Arbitrariness” according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If there is an abuse of power by the housing and communal services authority, the court will allow the lights to be turned on and will impose penalties on the violator;
- According to Article 15 of the Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, turning off the light for debts without a court decision in an apartment building is a violation of the rights of residents and is punishable by compensation for moral damages to consumers. The payer can recover from energy workers for moral damages and demand the cancellation of the decision of the Criminal Code.
If the electricity was illegally turned off, but everything was paid for, then the management company must cover the cost of connecting the lights, paying for the electrician’s work, and, possibly, providing energy for several months in advance.
In 90% of cases, such a decision is made in court to clients of the management company who previously contacted energy sales and filed an appeal to the court on the basis of violations of the quality of service, suspicion of arbitrariness and compensation for moral damages.
What cases of turning off the lights of the Criminal Code are also illegal?
In addition to the lack of warning, it is considered illegal if the management company turns off the lights in a house where a small child (under 18 years of age) lives . But at the same time, it is necessary to prove that the fact of limiting electricity consumption resulted in harm to health or the creation of an extremely unfavorable environment (relevant for families with children under 3 years of age).
If the lights were turned off for non-payment, and this caused harm to the health of pensioners or disabled people, for example, those who depend on an electrical device, such a decision is also a violation on the part of the energy supply.
After a court decision, the management company has the right to deprive residents of electricity, warning clients about this at least 2 hours before the workers’ visit . Cases where electricians entered a house without permission and cut off the lights are not uncommon, but may serve as a reason to file an appeal in court.
The process of deprivation of electricity has its own nuances. Workers who come to turn off the lights for non-payment are required to introduce themselves and present their identification, a copy of the act and hand over one copy to the residents. Payers' complaints that unknown people came and cut off the power are justified in 30% of cases.
Reasons
A specific list of circumstances under which a network organization has the full right to stop supplying electricity is indicated in clause 2 of Section I of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 4, 2012 No. 442. This includes the following cases:
- presentation of an official request by a FSSP employee to introduce limited light consumption;
- violation by the user of this utility service of the terms of the contract concluded with the resource supply company (for example, late payment or lack of payment at all for a long period of time);
- detection of illegal connection to the network;
- incorrect connection of the consumer's power receiving device;
- receipt of an official application from a citizen to limit the supply of electricity;
- expiration of the contract or its early termination (in case of temporary power supply);
- occurrence of an accident;
- carrying out scheduled preventive maintenance on electrical grid facilities.
According to clause 1(1) of Section I of the above-mentioned Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, limitation of electricity consumption can be of two types: partial (blackout for certain hours) and complete (final cutoff of electricity supply).
How to restore electricity after a power outage?
Residents whose electricity meters have been turned off due to legal proceedings often do not know how to reconnect the service.
If your electricity is turned off for non-payment, the first thing you need to do is pay off your debts. It is recommended to pay the debt for light after the trial within the specified period: in addition to the measures taken to disconnect the power grid, residents should not shy away from the need to pay previously issued debts.
If payers do not have money, then the management company is obliged to offer installment payments, for example, for a period of six months. The offer of installment plans is also relevant if utility workers only threaten to turn off the electricity.
After payment, residents must notify the management company about the transfer of funds. Housing and communal services employees will set a date and time for a meeting with the electrician. If a seal was placed as a shutdown, it will be removed within 24 hours. If there is a delay in the restoration of electricity, it is worth contacting the energy supply to speed up the process.
How to write a complaint correctly
When drawing up an application to the prosecutor's office, court or Rospotrebnadzor, you must adhere to several rules:
- In the header of the application, indicate the name of the organization where the application is being written , as well as the full name of the head and personal information of the applicant with contacts. Anonymous appeals will not be considered by any authority in accordance with the Federal Law “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation” dated May 2, 2006 N59-FZ.
- The main part of the document should describe the problem in detail , indicating the reasons for the appeal.
- Requirements should be stated at the end of the document.
- Below indicate the date and signature of all applicants (in the case of a collective complaint).
- Attach evidence.
A sample complaint about a power outage to the prosecutor's office, court or Rospotrebnadzor can be viewed at the link.
Recording a violation
In order to prove a permanent blackout, you can use witness testimony or note the fact of restrictions by calling emergency or resource service employees, who are required to draw up a report on the illegal blackout. It is this document that can be used as the main evidence in the future.
What documents should be attached to the complaint?
When filing an application, the availability of evidence is decisive for deciding whether the restriction of light supply is illegal.
The following should be attached to the document:
- witness's testimonies;
- receipts confirming the absence of debt;
- act confirming the blackout , drawn up by specialists of the emergency service or organization supplying electricity;
- statement and responses from the service provider , management company or local administration;
- other documents confirming the fact of illegal disconnection.
Is it worth connecting the meter yourself? What does this mean?
The desire to connect the meter yourself is easy to explain - in case of delays on the part of the energy supply, residents are forced to do without electricity even after payment has been made. Houses in which the lights were cut off for debt are under the control of housing and communal services organizations, and in this case it is not so easy to connect to the power supply yourself.
If the power is cut off, you can temporarily solve the problem with electricity using a mobile power station. Affordable price and ease of use allow you to gain access to vital processes without waiting for a decision from the management company.
Attempts by residents to independently access the electricity meter on the part of the management company may be regarded as a violation subject to a fine.
