Can the lights in an apartment be turned off for non-payment without a court decision and what to do if this happens?

On what grounds can electricity be turned off?

Legislative regulation of the issues of turning off electricity for non-payment is enshrined in Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 624. Since October 2020, it has established the possibility of turning off electricity to any organizations, including budget ones. Thus, a debt for electricity in any amount can become grounds for stopping the power supply to a kindergarten or school.

Disconnection is regulated by law in the following cases:

• absence of an agreement with the owner of the residential premises or the head of the organization;
• unauthorized connection to the network.

If there is an agreement between the organization and the consumer, the rules for disconnecting are governed by its terms. It is in it that it is stated whether they have the right to turn off the light for non-payment.

The law stipulates when the electricity is turned off. Failure to make payments for 2 billing periods will result in a temporary restriction. After receiving the notification, the consumer must pay the debt within 10 days. Otherwise, the power supply is cut off completely.

Government Decree 624 establishes the possibility of turning off electricity for non-payment of utilities. It does not matter what category of services the debt was for (light, water supply, heating, gas supply).

Procedure for turning off electricity for non-payment

Can the lights be turned off for non-payment? The government decree provides for a certain procedure for completely or partially restricting the supply of electricity. It includes the following rules:

• power outages are initiated by the supplier if the consumer has a debt for a period of more than 2 months;
• sending a notice to the consumer.

The document must contain information about the amount of debt and the maximum period for payment. The notice may be served in person, by email, through an electronic utility service, or via a recorded telephone call.

• determination of 20 days to pay the debt;
• partial restriction of electricity supply (in case of refusal to repay the debt);
• determination of 10 days to repay the debt;
• complete power outage (in case of refusal to pay a debt);
• sealing the meter to prevent illegal connections;
• drawing up a disconnection act.

If a debt has been generated for electricity, the shutdown is carried out in compliance with the above points. Otherwise, the actions of the energy supply company can be appealed in court.

Responsibility for illegal disconnection of electricity to individuals

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Question from Viktor Konstantinovich Gorovoy

Murom, Vladimir region

One day, coming home from work, I discovered that there was no light in the house. It turns out that while I was at work, the utility services cut off the electricity supply to the apartment. This led to the fact that the food and medicines in the refrigerator became unusable. Later it turned out that the shutdown occurred by mistake, since I have no debts for the light. Can I punish negligent utility workers?

Answer

The list of reasons why public utilities have the right to turn off the supply of electricity is given in clause 2 of the “Rules for complete or partial limitation of electricity consumption”, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 4, 2012 No. 442.

Utility workers broke the law if they mistakenly turned off the lights in a house for a non-existent debt.

For such acts the following types of liability are provided:

• In case of non-compliance with the standards for the supply of public utilities to the population, an administrative fine is imposed, which is imposed on responsible persons (fine amount - from 500 to 1 thousand rubles) or legal entities (fine amount - from 5 to 10 thousand rubles).

• In the event that the supply of electricity is stopped or limited without taking into account the law, and this leads to serious damage, disruption of the health of citizens, as well as other serious consequences (due to negligence), a fine is imposed (up to 200 thousand rubles), or in the amount of salary , or other profit of the convicted person for a period of up to 18 months. Restriction of freedom for a term of up to 3 years or imprisonment for a term of up to 2 years is also provided.

• If we are talking about arbitrariness (unauthorized commission of illegal actions contrary to the law or other regulations that led to significant damage), a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles or a fine in the amount of salary or other income of persons sentenced to a term of up to 6 years is provided. ten months, or performing forced labor for a period of 180 to 240 hours. We may also be talking about correctional labor for a period of 1 to 2 years or arrest - from 3 to 6 months.

If you find that there is no electricity supplied to your apartment, call or submit a written statement to the emergency dispatch service. Please note that your request must be registered.

In addition, try to record the fact that the electricity supply to the house has been interrupted. Invite your neighbors to witness. In the event that a power outage leads to material damage, invite a responsible employee of the organization providing the resource supply service. This representative will draw up an act to stop the supply of light.

According to the Federal Law of 02/07/1992 No. 23000-1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, a person who has suffered moral or material harm due to the disconnection of a resource is entitled to compensation. If you want to receive compensation, write a claim to the management organization. In the document, indicate the problems that arose in connection with the illegal shutdown of electricity supply and the losses incurred. It is important to have documentation confirming this fact. We are talking about checks, contracts, conclusions made by the expert commission, etc.

Since during the proceedings you will incur additional expenses (for example, conducting an examination), also demand a refund of these funds.

If the problem cannot be resolved through negotiations, file a statement of claim in court.

If you have questions, please use the form below and we will respond as soon as possible.

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Minimum debt amount

To understand under what debt the lights are turned off, you need to refer to Resolution 624. Since 2020, the suspension of the light supply is carried out according to new rules.

The law does not establish a debt for electricity, the amount of which will become the basis for disconnection. Suspension of filing is tied to the period of non-payment.

To turn off the lights, it is enough to accumulate a debt for electricity for 2 months. The amount of debt does not matter. Theoretically, they can cut off the supply of electricity for a debt of 100 rubles.

Sample notification

The warning does not have an official form, so the company can draw up a document in free form.

Sample notice of power outage for non-payment:

1. Name of the initiator (energy supply, management company, homeowners association, housing office).
2. Grounds for carrying out activities.
3. Notification of debt.
4. The name of the type of utility services for which the debt arose (electricity, gas, heating, water supply).
5. Amount of debt.
6. Deadline for voluntary payment.
7. Warning about disconnection in case of non-payment.
8. Information about the head of the organization.
9. Date of delivery of the notice.
10. Consumer signature.

A prerequisite is the delivery of the document against the signature of the debtor.

How do they turn off electricity in an apartment for debts, what regulations must be followed?

If a consumer has arrears in paying for electricity for two months, then this is a legal basis for limiting its supply. Resolution No. 442 of 05/04/2012 establishes the procedure for limiting the supply of electricity to consumers - individuals, which is still relevant in 2020 and must be observed by the energy supply organization.

Notification

Energosbyt is obliged to notify the debtor in writing of its intention to suspend its services. He must do this in advance:

• about partial restriction - twenty days before this moment;
• about a complete shutdown - thirty days in advance.

If there is no technical possibility of partially limiting the supply of electricity, energy sales have the right not to apply this measure.
There are two options for serving a notice to a person:

1. In person against receipt.
2. Registered letter with acknowledgment of delivery.

Warning

After receiving the notice, the debtor must do one of the following within twenty days:

1. Pay off your debt.
2. Submit an application for an installment plan to pay the debt for a period of six months. As a rule, energy sales employees are not in a hurry to immediately turn off the lights, they meet the debtor halfway and draw up an appropriate agreement with him.

If none of the above actions are completed, then the electricity supplier sends a warning about the blackout by registered mail or hand-delivered.

The warning must indicate the date and time of the moment the services were disconnected. After this, the debtor will have only three days to avoid being left without electricity.

Limitation

If the debtor has not responded to the notice and warning, has not paid off his debt and has not stated a request to provide him with an installment plan, then energy sales employees have the right to come and limit electricity consumption. Suspension (limitation) of the provision of services implies a temporary reduction in the volume of resource supply and (or) the introduction of a schedule for its provision during the day.

Termination of supply

Energosbyt suspends the provision of its services if:

1. the debtor has not repaid his debt within the period specified in the notice (warning), and there is no technical possibility of limiting the provision of utility services;
2. if the debtor has not repaid his debt within ten days from the date of introduction of restrictions on electricity consumption.

When disconnected from the network, energy sales employees must seal the meter until the debt is fully repaid. The procedure for suspending this type of service obliges energy sales employees to draw up a report on this action.

The act must be drawn up in two copies , one for the service provider, the other for the recipient. It is worth noting that there is no single form for this document.

If the act was not drawn up or it contains errors, then the individual has the right to file a complaint with the prosecutor’s office or a lawsuit in court demanding that the disconnection be declared illegal.

Read about the amount of debt and when the lights are turned off here.

Drawing up an act

If non-payment for electricity has exceeded the period prescribed by law, the energy supply company may initiate a suspension of the supply of light. Regardless of the reason for the shutdown, this fact is documented in the form of an act.

Only a representative of the energy supply company can turn off the supply.

The preparation of the document is entrusted to a company representative or an employee of the management company. We fill out the form immediately after the light supply stops. The presence of the consumer is not a prerequisite.

A power outage report must be drawn up in writing. Let's look at a sample:

1. Date and place of compilation. The current date and address of the consumer are indicated.
2. Data of the consumer or his authorized representative. It is necessary to register if it is present when disconnected.
3. Data from a representative of the energy supply or management company.
4. Date and time of complete or partial cessation of light supply to the consumer.
5. Disconnection method.
6. Current readings of the electricity meter.
7. Counter number.
8. Signatures of the consumer and company representative.

Important! The debt for electricity is not indicated in the act.

Main reasons for power outage

The regulations state that shutting off vital resources such as water, electricity and gas should be carried out in extreme cases and must be legal. Main reasons for power outages:

• If the contract for the supply of electricity is terminated.
• Technical points.
• Economic justification.

Let us describe in detail the second and third points of stopping the supply of light.

Technical

There are two possible scenarios: either the shutdown was due to an accident, scheduled work, or due to the fault of the owner himself.

1. Emergency situations arise for various reasons: these are weather conditions (hurricanes, snowstorms, etc.), wear and tear of the equipment itself, installation of batteries not in accordance with the standards, and improper operation of the equipment. In these cases, it is simply impossible to warn homeowners about such accidents; it happens suddenly. Typically, resource supply organizations notify about urgent repair work through the media, but the time frame for troubleshooting is reported, since everything depends on the level of severity of the emergency situation.
2. When scheduled work is carried out on the energy supply system, residents are notified in advance by announcements on information boards in the entrances. It is the responsibility of the management company to warn about power outages. The timing of such work must also be indicated. By law, the supplier can leave residents without electricity for no more than a day. The total time for scheduled repairs should not exceed three days during the year.
3. Often the lights are turned off for non-compliance with safety rules by the apartment owner (for example, when using equipment that does not meet electricity consumption standards).

In this case, a power outage occurs after a decision by a representative of Rostechnadzor or a commission of the management company. A notice must also be sent to the person responsible before the lights are cut off.

Economic

This type of outage is associated with a violation of the contract for the supply of resources, or with its absence, when the owner uses electricity in circumvention of the law. The resource supplying organization has the legal right to turn off the lights in the following cases:

1. Non-payment. Different cities/regions have their own contract terms, but usually the supply of electricity is stopped if the total amount of debt exceeds three times the monthly norm. There are cases when electricity was turned off when debts amounted to 100-200 rubles.
2. When specialists from the resource supplier company cannot access the owner’s electric meters for more than six months.
3. Illegal use of electricity (in the absence of a contract for its supply).
4. Using light without metering it (bypassing the connection or various types of actions with the meter that disrupt its operation).

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For such violations, the owner also faces a fine.

Responsibility for unauthorized connection

Representatives of the energy supply company must conduct annual inspections of apartments to check metering devices in accordance with the contract. In addition, the law establishes the right to perform an extraordinary meter inspection.

If the inspector detects an unauthorized connection, he formalizes the violation in the form of an act. The document is written in free form and submitted to the district police department or district police officer to draw up a protocol on the offense.

The document must be sent to the magistrate's court. As a result of the consideration, the judge will issue a decision to impose a fine on the citizen who has not paid the debt for electricity.

The form of the resolution form is drawn up using the example of a general resolution of the judicial district.

The amount of the fine for unauthorized connection is set at the discretion of the judge. It amounts to:

• for individuals – 1.5 – 2 thousand rubles;
• for legal entities – 30 – 40 thousand rubles.

If the lights are turned off without notice

As soon as you have the slightest debt, an electrician comes from the management company and cuts off the full power supply to your apartment. In principle, this is consistent with what we said earlier. But let's delve a little deeper into the law.

Clause 178 of the Basic Provisions approved by the Government of the Russian Federation clearly explains the algorithm that must be followed before turning off the power supply to your apartment.

First of all, you should have a debt for electricity. Moreover, not some specific amount, say 1,000 rubles, 10,000 rubles, or another. And for 3 reporting periods.

Simply put, do not pay for electricity for 3 months and then you will receive the first notification, which will clearly state what debt you have, what you owe for and what the deadline for repaying the debt is.

According to the law, you must have at least 15 days to repay the loan itself. And it turns out that if your lights are turned off without notice, then these actions are illegal and you can appeal them in court.

And now where do we come to? If you have a debt for more than 3 months, you were also notified at least 15 days in advance and you had time to repay the debt in whole or in part, but you did not do this, then the company’s actions are considered lawful . And turning off the electricity in your apartment is completely legal.

It is important to note that Government Decree No. 354 of May 6, 2011, in paragraph 114, clearly explains that you have the right to turn off electricity only if you have a debt for electricity.

If you have debts in other areas of housing and communal services, for example, elevators, playgrounds, garbage collection, or turning off electricity, no one has the right to force you to pay other utility bills.

Which categories of citizens do not have the right to turn off the lights for debts?

Debt for electricity is grounds for stopping the supply of electricity. However, there are limitations to this rule. The law prohibits cutting off electricity for non-payment of certain categories of citizens. Among them:

• disabled people;
• veterans;
• pregnant women;
• minor children.

To confirm the right to maintain electricity supply in case of non-payment, a citizen must submit documents to the office of the supplier company. The person receiving the benefit must be the owner of the residential premises or a family member. At the same time, he must have permanent registration at the disconnection address.

How to solve a problem

What should a debtor do if the lights are turned off for non-payment? Even if organizations comply with all the rules for suspending the supply of electricity, the consumer can return electricity to his home.

To do this you need to do the following:

1. Pay your electricity debt in full.
2. Get installments:

• write an application at the office of the supplier company about installment payment;
• pay the minimum part of the debt, for example, 1,000 rubles.

Refusal to provide installment plans is not provided for by law.

The next step is connecting the electricity. To do this you need:

• agree on a connection date;
• wait for the specialist to arrive;
• connecting and sealing the metering device.

How soon should the electricity be turned on? No specific dates have been set. The arrival of an equipment installation specialist is negotiated individually.

Electricity is turned off due to arrears in utility bills. If the company has complied with all the rules for warning the debtor, the optimal solution would be to pay the debt or restructure it.

The lights were turned off according to the law. How can I get it back?

If you received all the notifications about the debts and the planned shutdown date, but did not take any action, the power will be turned off for you. You can reach an agreement with the management company and pay them immediately, then you will not be deprived of electricity.

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If you don’t have money and conversations with representatives of the HOA have not brought any results, then they will put a seal on the meter, take readings from it and turn off the lights. To return it, you will have to go through the connection procedure.

The easiest way is to pay off the debt. In this case, the light will return much faster. If there are no funds to pay off the debt, then you can ask the management company for an installment plan. Authorized persons will divide the debt into 6 equal parts, which you will pay within six months.

Expert opinion

Mikhailov Evgeniy Alexandrovich

Teacher of civil law. Lawyer with 20 years of experience

To do this, you need to go to Energosbyt and ask for a certificate of no debt. Then you go back to your HOA or management company, give them a certificate and write an application to connect the light. Here you will need to pay for the work of connecting electricity (about 1000 rubles), and they will set a date for the electrician’s arrival. Usually a specialist arrives 2 days after the debt is repaid. The electrician will remove the seal from the meter and connect the power. Light will appear in the apartment within one day after connection.

What is strictly prohibited to do:

• Return electricity yourself. If you are not a specialist, then if you act incorrectly, you can get a fatal electric shock. If you succeed, the management organization will still notice it and issue a serious fine.
• Connect the jumper to the neighbor's outlet. Such actions are also considered illegal and are subject to a fine.
• Remove the seal from the meter. This is strictly prohibited, since even after paying the debt, you will be charged additional kilowatts for using the meter, and will also be fined.

What you can do when the lights are turned off for non-payment:

• Use a generator. If you have a private house, dacha, cottage, then in this situation it always helps out. His work may well provide light to all rooms.
• Connect the extension cord. If light is absolutely necessary, you can get it through a neighbor. To do this you will need an extension cord. Here you can at least charge your phone or leave the refrigerator running so that the food does not spoil. Don't forget to pay your neighbor for the kilowatts you use.
• Install a solar battery. Those who live in a sunny region will have better luck here. During rainy periods there will not be enough energy, but you will have small savings.