Ukraine has changed the rules for cutting off electricity due to unpaid bills
The NEURC has amended the Rules for the Retail Electricity Market. The new regulations strengthen consumer protection during power disconnections and reconnections due to unpaid bills.
“In particular, a residential consumer will not be required to reimburse the costs of disconnection and subsequent reconnection if, at the time the warning was issued, their electricity debt was less than half the subsistence minimum for able-bodied individuals,” according to a statement from the National Commission for State Regulation in the Spheres of Energy and Public Utilities.
This same rule will apply even if, after the disconnection, the distribution system operator verifies consumption levels based on actual meter readings and it turns out that the actual debt at the time of disconnection was less than the established threshold. In such a case, the costs of disconnecting and restoring the electricity supply shall be borne by the distribution system operator.
The consumer will also not be required to pay for the disconnection and reconnection of electricity service if the disconnection was carried out in violation of the procedure.
In addition, the NEURC has approved a uniform approach to calculating the cost of disconnection and reconnection. Specifically, the cost of disconnection and reconnection may not exceed the maximum amount calculated in accordance with the Market Rules. Distribution system operators must publish a list of services and their costs on their official websites.
When disconnecting a customer, the distribution system operator must, if technically feasible and provided that access is available, choose the least complex and least expensive method of performing the work.
After completing the work, the distribution system operator must draw up a report specifying, in particular, the date and time, the method of disconnection, the EIC code, and the meter readings, if they can be recorded. One copy of the report is provided to the consumer, and if the consumer is not present, it is sent within three business days.
In cases provided for by the Market Rules, the system operator must reconnect the service within three business days in urban areas and five business days in rural areas after the causes of the disconnection have been resolved and the necessary conditions have been met.
Source: NEURC
As a reminder, Russian attacks and severe weather have left consumers without power in 11 regions of Ukraine.
As a reminder, the occupiers struck Zhmerynka, cutting off power to part of the city.
