No electricity due to unpaid bills. Can the energy company cut off power, and what should consumers do in that situation?

You have a debt: why and when can a supplier disconnect a consumer from electricity

Elena Voronkova, a lawyer at Ivan Khomich's law firm, explained that today the issue of providing and terminating electricity supply services, as well as the grounds for disconnecting consumers from the power line, is regulated by the Rules of the Retail Electricity Market, approved by the resolution of the National Commission for State Regulation in the Spheres of Energy and Public Utilities № 312 dated March 14, 2018, and the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated March 5, 2022 №206 "Some issues of payment for housing and communal services during martial law." At the same time, the lawyer states that there is no legislative regulation regarding the minimum amount of debt or the period during which the debt accumulates for the supplier to have the right to disconnect the consumer from the power line. However, the regulator does provide some benchmarks for debt amounts for suppliers.

"According to paragraph 7.12 of the Rules of the Retail Electricity Market, approved by the resolution of the National Commission for State Regulation in the Spheres of Energy and Public Utilities № 312 dated March 14, 2018, it is stipulated that the costs of restoring electricity supply to the consumer are not incurred by the system operator if, at the time of notification of disconnection, the amount of debt was less than half of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons. In 2024, this subsistence minimum is 3028 UAH, thus, from the supplier's perspective, it is unreasonable to disconnect a consumer whose debt does not exceed 1514 UAH, as the costs of reconnection will fall on the supplier," says Elena Voronkova. She adds that the service provider must warn the consumer about the disconnection and offer to conclude a debt restructuring agreement.

Experts say that all consumers who have accumulated a debt exceeding 3,000 UAH are likely at risk of disconnection.

"What do they rely on when making a decision to disconnect from the line? An individual approach. Each situation is considered on a case-by-case basis. They may take into account not only the amount of debt but also factors such as the duration of non-payment: the longer the consumer does not pay for electricity, the higher the probability of disconnection. Additionally, the payment history may be considered: if the consumer previously paid regularly for electricity but is now facing temporary difficulties, they may be offered a payment plan," says Andrey Shabelnikov. He is confident that disconnections most often occur due to large and long-standing debts.

"If the amount of debt is significant and the consumer has not taken measures to pay it off for a long time, disconnection is the most likely outcome. Ignoring messages about the debt can also lead to disconnection. If the consumer disregards all notifications regarding the debt and does not communicate, disconnection may also be carried out," believes Andrey Shabelnikov. Furthermore, the supplier company may decide to disconnect the consumer if there is no agreement on restructuring the debt.

Disconnection and its appeal: what rights do consumers have

Managing partner of "Winners Partners" law firm, lawyer Sergey Litvinenko noted that before disconnection, the supplier is obliged to notify the consumer. Specifically, the company must send a notification to the consumer no later than 30 days before the planned disconnection. Additionally, Litvinenko explains that the supplier must provide an opportunity to pay off the debt or enter into a debt restructuring agreement. If the consumer does not respond to the warning and does not pay off the debt, the supplier has the right to proceed to the next stage, which is the actual disconnection, conducted only after the established period and provided that all previous steps have been completed in accordance with the law.

According to Sergey Litvinenko, consumers have the right to challenge the actions of the energy company in the case of unlawful disconnection. "It is important to keep all documents confirming payment for electricity and communication with the supplier. In the event of a conflict, one can appeal to the National Commission for State Regulation in the Spheres of Energy and Public Utilities (NKREKU) or to the court," says the lawyer.

Although enforcement proceedings for electricity debt account for less than 10% of the total volume of judicial cases regarding communal debts, disputes are still common where consumers contest both the debt amounts and the disconnection from services. Lawyers, however, remind us that often the actions of consumers themselves lead to legal proceedings.

"There is a procedure, and the service provider reasonably applies sanctions for consumers violating the terms of the agreement or the Rules of the Retail Electricity Market. You can win cases when the consumer has complied with all legal requirements during the emergence and development of the dispute. For the majority of the population, there is no basis for initiating legal proceedings.," says Elena Voronkova.

According to Andrey Shabelnikov, in such cases, the key factor is the electricity supplier's compliance with the disconnection procedure and the rights of the consumer. "If the disconnection was carried out unlawfully and without notifying the consumer, this is grounds for challenging the actions of the electricity supplier in court," noted the expert.

There are also cases where a consumer is disconnected from electricity due to debts of previous owners of the house or apartment. Elena Voronkova reminded that legislation does not impose an obligation on the new owner to pay the debts for communal payments of the previous owner unless otherwise stipulated in the purchase agreement of the respective real estate, which is confirmed by the Supreme Court's rulings. "At the same time, to defend their rights in such cases, the consumer will have to go to court for protection," says Elena Voronkova.

According to Andrey Shabelnikov, if the new owner has debts of previous owners included in their account or is refused a new agreement for housing and communal services, a series of steps must be taken, specifically:

• write a letter to the relevant enterprises providing housing and communal services requesting to conclude a contract for the provision of housing and communal services;
• if refused — go to court with a claim to compel the conclusion of a contract for the provision of the respective housing and communal service or to compel the exclusion of the debts of previous owners from the account.

"Meanwhile, when concluding a purchase agreement for real estate, it is appropriate to require from the seller a certificate of absence of debts for housing and communal services," explained Andrey Shabelnikov.

Finding out about the debt: how consumers can monitor all electricity payments

To avoid facing the fact of electricity disconnection, it is important to monitor payments and keep track of charges and payments. Experts note, however, that it is still impossible to guarantee timely information about the debt, as any system can fail. "According to official information on the "Yasno" website, it is stated that you can obtain information about the existence of a debt through: personal account, mobile application, or by ordering the corresponding service on the website. However, as with any electronic system, this one can also fail, as evidenced by court cases where consumers have disputed amounts charged for electricity usage under the specified circumstances, where the personal account lacked information about the debt, and the supplier did not respond to the consumer's request, leading the consumer to court. In that situation, the court satisfied the consumer's claims. Therefore, yes, it is possible and necessary to defend one's rights, but for this, the consumer must primarily comply strictly with the legal requirements," said Elena Voronkova.

Andrey Shabelnikov advises that when receiving information about a debt (for example, through an SMS message or in Viber), and the debt is not visible in the consumer's account (on the supplier's website), several important steps should be taken, particularly contacting the company.

What to do to check the existence of debt for electricity

• Immediately contact the energy supplier and clarify information about the existence of the debt. Ask on what basis this amount was charged and why there was no information in the personal account.
• Check all charges to ensure they correspond to the actual electricity consumption.
• Keep all documents that can confirm your position (payment receipts, meter readings, etc.).

"If you believe that the charges are erroneous, you have the right to contest them. To do this, you need to submit a corresponding application to the energy supplier. If all other dispute resolution methods do not yield results, you can go to court," noted Andrey Shabelnikov.