Reasons
Electricity can be turned off due to an accident on the power grid (the supplier is responsible for this), due to planned repairs of electrical carriers, or due to debts on payment for electricity (how do power cuts happen for non-payment?). Every situation has its limitations.
Technical
There are several technical reasons why electricity supply to homes stops. The supplier is responsible for all these reasons.
Planned major or current repairs
The timing of planned power outages is specified in the agreement between the supplier and the consumer. Most often, during routine repairs, the supplier has the right to turn off the lights for no more than 72 hours per year. But without a break, an apartment or house cannot be left without electricity for no more than 24 hours (what is the procedure for turning off electricity?).
According to paragraph 117 of Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354 of 05/06/2011, the supplier must notify consumers about repair work 10 working days before it begins.
Residents can prepare in advance for a power outage (if it lasts for a long time) and adjust their plans so that a power outage does not suddenly ruin their mood.
Learn more about the planned power outage here.
Partial or complete failure of the power supply system
This situation is classified as an emergency; no one is immune from it. Therefore, in this case, the light may be turned off without warning and for an indefinite period until the problem is resolved. In this case, consumers can simply wait.
Adverse weather conditions
Bad weather also refers to emergency situations when the supplier can turn off the lights in a house or apartment without warning the residents.
Unsatisfactory condition of the consumer network
It happens that the wiring in a house or in a separate apartment is faulty. To prevent possible short circuits and emergencies, the supplier has the right to turn off the power to the apartment or house until the problem is fixed.
In such a situation, the decision to turn off the power is made by Rostechnadzor or the Housing Inspectorate, and they are also obliged to notify consumers about the upcoming shutdown.
Changing network company
During the period of change of electricity suppliers, electricity in the house may be cut off for a short period. Usually this is warned in advance.
Economic
There are several economic reasons why electricity can be turned off : the user has unauthorizedly connected to the general network or the consumer is using very powerful devices that are higher than the technical parameters of the power grid.
But one of the most common cases of power outages is consumer debt. If you haven't paid for several months, be prepared to be left without electricity.
Sanctions for regular non-payment
If the consumer has accumulated a debt for more than 2 months, he is sent a notice with a request to pay off the debt , otherwise the supply of electricity will be limited and then suspended (clause 118-120 of Chapter XI of the Government of the Russian Federation of 05/06/2011 N 354 “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings").
The notification is sent by mail or a corresponding note about the debt is made in the payment slip. From the date of receipt of the notice, the tenant must pay the amount due within 20 days. If he does not do this, his electricity supply is limited.
If within 10 days the consumer still does not pay the debt, the power is turned off. Electricity will be restored within two days only after the debt is paid off.
Read more about how electricity supply is cut off for non-payment in a separate article.
Warn and de-energize
The electricity supply was cut off to a willful defaulter on utility bills. He complained that he was not informed about this trouble, and the power engineers were ordered to restore the power supply. And all because they incorrectly notified the debtor. How to do this correctly? The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation answered this question. The problem of debts for housing and communal services is one of the most difficult, and this is already recognized at the state level. According to the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services, at the beginning of this year the total debt to resource supply organizations is 1.238 trillion rubles. Of these, 750 billion are the debts of the population. The rest was accumulated by management companies. And debtors, as well as those who supply housing and communal services, need to clearly know not only their legal obligations, but also their rights.
Just like that, without prior warning, turning off a utility service to a defaulting citizen is not as simple as it seems at first glance. In such a situation, there is a certain legal algorithm of action for organizations that supply utilities and to which a person owes money. Failure to comply with all the necessary warning points may result in the utility being forced to be supplied, despite the existing debt.
Usually, the debtor is sent a warning by registered mail that if he does not pay off the resulting debt, he will be left, as in our case, without electricity. The warning is sent by mail and with mandatory notification of delivery to the debtor citizen.
Without written warning, turning off a utility service to a defaulter is not as easy as it seems at first glance
In our case, such a letter of “happiness” was not received by the addressee. And the letter, after lying in the mail for the required period, was returned to the sender. So the main thing is that, according to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, this “does not indicate that the consumer has been informed of the possibility of introducing a restriction or terminating the provision of utilities without proper notification to the consumer 20 days in advance.”
Electricity suppliers tried to appeal this, in his opinion, illegal order in a local court.
There, the power engineers explained that the debtor was sent a notification by registered mail about the debt and about a possible “limitation of the regime of electrical energy consumption.” They confirmed this by presenting to the court a register of postal items with a post office mark.
Based on the tracking report, the letter arrived at the delivery location. And on September 1, an unsuccessful delivery attempt was made, the postal item was sent to the sender.
“Limiting the mode of consumption of electrical energy” - in other words, turning off the lights - occurred on September 12.
The district court declared the order of the housing inspection illegal, since the power engineers “failed to ensure that the consumer received appropriate warning” about the upcoming limitation of the supply of utility services. As the local court emphasized, there is no evidence in the case materials confirming that the consumer received a warning.
And hence the conclusion is that the limitation of electrical energy consumption was carried out without observing the 20-day period prescribed in the relevant law, which begins to count from the moment the consumer receives the warning.
The next instance, the court of appeal, on the contrary, considered the order to the power engineers illegal, since, according to the Russian Post, the notice was delivered on July 31, but was not handed over to him. And in accordance with Article 165.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, notifications or “other legally significant messages with which a law or transaction associates civil consequences for another person, entail such consequences for that person from the moment the corresponding message is delivered to him or his representative.”
A message is also considered delivered in cases where it was received by the citizen to whom it was sent (the addressee), but due to circumstances depending on him, it was not delivered to him or the addressee did not familiarize himself with it.
Consequently, the Supreme Court concluded, the twenty-day period for disconnecting a utility service should be counted precisely from the date of delivery of the notice to the consumer by mail. And from this it follows that the deadline was met, the order for the power engineers to turn on the lights is illegal.
The district court considered that it was impossible to apply Article 165.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in our case, since legal relations regarding the provision of utility services are regulated by housing legislation and the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”. But the norms of civil legislation in terms of consumer protection and in terms of housing legal relations are of a general nature.
Another important point is that paragraph 119 of Rules No. 354 contains a special procedure for notifying the debtor and requires the fact of personal delivery of the postal notice. The mere fact of sending a warning to the consumer by registered mail with return receipt requested, which was not received by the addressee, regardless of the reasons for non-reception, and was returned to the sender, does not indicate that the consumer was informed of the possibility of introducing a restriction or terminating the provision of public services to him.
This means that the 20-day deadline was not met, and the order to turn on the lights complies with the law.
How to find out why the power was cut off?
To find out why the lights were turned off in the entire house, the consumer can call the dispatch service of his management company or directly to the electricity supplier.
Some cities have special information centers that can also provide information to residents about various repair and emergency situations related to the suspension of utility services. The telephone numbers of these organizations are usually placed on information stands at the entrance of the house. Muscovites can call the Mosenergosbyt hotline: 8 (495) 981-981-9 or 8.
We talked in detail about where to go if the power goes out in this article.
Electrical energy plays a huge role in the life of modern man. If there has been a deliberate power outage, it is important to check whether this action is legal or illegal on the part of the electricity supplier. Does the owner have the right to refuse electricity, the chairman of SNT or the management company to stop the supply of electricity - read in our materials.
News
When no one is home: how to avoid becoming a debtor with zero electricity consumption.
If the electricity meter readings are not transmitted, electricity charges are calculated based on the substitute information.
This means that, even with zero consumption, the amount due will be shown on the receipt. Northern Sales Company reminds subscribers of the need to submit electricity meter readings by the 25th of the current month.
If the readings are transmitted later or not transmitted at all, the electricity fee will be charged based on the replacement information. This means that even if consumption is zero, the amount due will be shown on the receipt.
Substitute information is the average monthly accruals and standard. If there are no readings, the fee is calculated based on the average consumption for the previous months. In such a situation, the amount in the receipt may exceed the subscriber’s usual expenses for electricity.
“Residents can go on a business trip, go on vacation, many move to their dacha for the whole summer. In these cases, in order to avoid charges based on the average or standard, we recommend that subscribers choose a method that is convenient for them and submit meter readings in a timely manner. Even if they haven't changed. The company’s services allow you to do this from anywhere,” explained Sergei Zaitsev, head of the customer service department at Northern Sales Company LLC.
How can I transmit my electricity meter readings?
— on the website sevesk.ru (button on the Home page “Submit electric meter readings”);
— in the official VKontakte group vk.com/energosbyt35 (application “Send readings”);
— in your personal account lk.sevesk.ru
— SMS message to the number +7-931-379-4-379 personal account-space-indication. EXAMPLE: 1234567890 345
For a two-tariff meter: personal account-space-reading day-space-reading night
EXAMPLE: 1234567890 345 232
One SMS message contains information about one personal account. Cost according to the operator's tariff.
- By email, personal account - space - apartment number (if any) - space - indication;
EXAMPLE: 1234567890 55 1234.
For a two-tariff meter: personal account - space - apartment number (if any) - space - day reading - space - night reading;
EXAMPLE: 1234567890 55 345 232
One message contains information about one personal account.
— Contact center 8-8172-23-15-15 and by telephone in each area indicated in receipts (via voice assistant - around the clock).
Shutdown standards
Today there are certain standards that regulate the specifics of power outages and determine time intervals. In particular, this is the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 442 “On the functioning of retail markets for electrical energy, complete and (or) partial restrictions on the consumption of electrical energy.”
In connection with this resolution, restrictions are introduced:
- if the consumer has violated the terms specified in the agreement, these may be financial obligations, unauthorized connection to the network;
- by mutual decision;
- due to renovation work;
- by decision of Rospotrebnadzor;
- due to breakdown or emergency.
Suppliers must provide notice when the lights are turned on and when they are turned off. This applies to situations where the work is planned.
Announcements of such outages due to repair work must be distributed no later than 10 days before the power is turned off . They should contain information about the shutdown, the timing of when the power will be turned on, and the basis for the shutdown.
ATTENTION! All existing regulations regarding power outages during scheduled repairs must be specified in the agreement between the consumer and the supplier.
