Stages and legislative basis for shutting off electricity for non-payment

One of the legitimate reasons for a power outage is the user’s refusal to pay for services. But in this case, the shutdown procedure must be carried out in the manner prescribed by law. Restriction or suspension of the supply of electricity to the consumer can occur only after a certain amount of debt has been generated and a warning message has been sent to the debtor.

Do you have to give notice that the electricity will be turned off?

The procedure for providing and stopping the supply of electricity to users is regulated by the Rules established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 05/04/2012 N 442 and Decree of 05/06/2011 No. 354.

If the reason for suspending the provision of a utility service is the lack of payment from the consumer, then before turning off the electricity, the supplying company is obliged to send a notification to the debtor (clause 117 of Resolution No. 354).

It is also necessary to notify consumers in cases where scheduled maintenance work is planned, during which it will be necessary to limit or stop the supply of electricity.

Turning off electricity without prior warning (with the exception of the cases specified in paragraph 115 of Resolution No. 354) is unlawful , which gives the consumer the right to file a lawsuit and demand compensation for damage suffered (about whether they have the right to turn off electricity for non-payment without a decision court, read here).

The energy supply company is responsible for providing the consumer with electricity in the required volume and proper quality. Only she has the right to suspend or completely stop the supply of electricity. The basis for suspending the supply of electricity cannot be debt for other types of utility services.

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.

Contents of the document

There is no unified form for notifying debtors, but the document must include the following information:

1. Full name of the electricity consumer and address at which it is planned to limit or completely suspend power supply;
2. legal grounds for taking measures to stop the supply of electricity to the specified address;
3. confirmation of debt (electricity meter readings);
4. the period within which the debt must be repaid and the measures that will be taken if the debt is not repaid (partial restriction or complete disconnection from power supply);
5. amount of debt to be paid;
6. date of delivery of the document;
7. signature of the responsible employee of the supplier company and details for payment of the debt.

We do not recommend completing the documents yourself. Save time - contact our lawyers by phone:

8 (800) 350-14-90

The energy saving company has the right to demand from the consumer not only payment of the debt amount, but also reimbursement of the amount of expenses associated with the introduction of restrictions on consumption and the resumption of electricity supply (clause 20, Section II, Resolution No. 442).

Cases when warning is not required

The law requires the utility provider to provide advance notice of an impending power outage, but there are also a number of cases where power outages can be carried out without prior notice being sent.

In accordance with paragraph 115 of Resolution No. 354, power outages without warning are allowed in the following cases:

• the occurrence of an emergency in centralized power supply networks;
• natural disasters (storms, floods, hurricanes, etc.) and the occurrence of emergencies, as well as, if necessary, eliminating the consequences of these events;
• detection of illegal use of electricity by a consumer through unauthorized connection to intra-house or centralized electrical networks;
• operation of household appliances whose characteristics exceed the maximum permissible load on the electrical network, about which the consumer was previously warned by the supplier company;
• receipt by a company providing electricity supply of an order to limit or suspend the supply of electricity due to the unsatisfactory condition of in-house engineering systems or in-house equipment, which can lead to an accident and loss of life.

Notice of Power Restriction

In accordance with paragraph 8 of the Rules for complete and (or) partial limitation of the mode of consumption of electrical energy, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 4, 2012 No. 442, Mosenergosbyt JSC publishes notifications to consumers - legal entities about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy in due to the presence of overdue debt for consumed electricity. The notification contains information about the official name of the consumer-debtor, details of the agreement concluded with Mosenergosbyt JSC, the date of notification of the introduction of a power supply restriction, as well as the timing of repayment of the resulting debt. To search for your organization, you must enter the name of the organization or the number of the energy supply contract in the search query. The new procedure for notifying clients of legal entities about restrictions on the power supply regime is specified in contracts and additional agreements that organizations enter into with Mosenergosbyt JSC.

Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 05.27.2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 05/26/2021. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 05/20/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 05/19/2021. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 05/11/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 05/06/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 04/29/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 04/20/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 04/19/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 04/12/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 04/07/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 03/31/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 03/26/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 03/19/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 03/11/2021. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy from 03/05/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 02/26/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 02/19/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 02/11/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 02/03/2021. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated January 26, 2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 01/21/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 01/15/2021. Notifications on the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated December 30, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated December 28, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated December 19, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated December 11, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy from 02.12.2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy from 12/01/2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated November 30, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated November 26, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated November 19, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated November 11, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy from 02.11.2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated October 26, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 10/19/2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 10/12/2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated 10/06/2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated September 28, 2020. Notifications about the introduction of restrictions on the mode of consumption of electrical energy dated September 25, 2020. 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How long must you notify?

The contractor receives the right to restrict or suspend the electricity supply service if the consumer does not pay in full for the service provided to him and he has incurred a debt.

The amount of debt must exceed the amount of 2 monthly payments for electricity, calculated on the basis of established standards.

The presence or absence of an individual or common meter is not taken into account (clause 118 of Resolution No. 354). That is, the defaulter will receive a notification after two billing periods (billing period - month), for which he did not pay.

If the debt has been generated for all or several types of public services, then the amount of debt for disconnection is calculated for each type separately.

The procedure for serving a document and limiting the supply of light

Notification of a possible power outage is transmitted to the debtor in one of the following ways:

• delivery of the document in person against signature;
• sending a registered letter;
• inclusion of a warning text about taking action in case of non-payment of the debt in the payment receipt;
• telephone call with a recording of the conversation;
• sending an email;
• message for the consumer in the personal account of the housing and communal services information system;
• other methods confirming the fact of transmission and receipt of a message by the consumer (clause 119 of Resolution No. 354).

The procedure for limiting power supply is as follows:

1. The energy supply company sends a notice to the debtor containing a warning about restrictions and further complete shutdown of electricity if the debt is not repaid within 20 days from the date of delivery of the notice. A utility service can be completely turned off immediately if it is not technically possible to ensure consumption restrictions.
2. If the defaulter does not pay the debt within 20 days, the supply company imposes a restriction on providing the consumer with electricity (if such a technical possibility exists).
3. If 20 days after receiving the notification (if it is not possible to limit the supply of electricity) or 10 days after the introduction of the restriction, the defaulter has not repaid the debt, the contractor has the right to suspend power supply to such a consumer (clause 119 of Resolution No. 354).

If the defaulter managed to repay the debt for payment for electricity services before the date specified in the message, the supply of electricity will not be suspended.

About what kind of debt and in what time frame the power is turned off is described here.

We have information about what to do if the light is turned off in the apartment, as well as about the act and turning off the light in SNT.

Shutdown stages

Written Notice

The legal basis for termination of service in the case of energy sales is failure to pay for electricity within a period exceeding two months.

The organization must notify the owner or tenant of the residential premises of its intention to limit energy consumption in writing and in advance:

• 15 days in advance - about partial limitation of electricity supplies;
• 30 days in advance - about a complete power outage.

Energosbyt has the right not to resort to partial restrictions if technical capabilities allow only a complete cessation of power supply to the home.

Important : the rules for shutting off electricity for non-payment prescribe only two legal ways to warn a citizen about a power outage:

• sending by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt;
• delivery to the citizen personally against signature.

Passing a notice or warning through a neighbor, putting it in a door or mailbox, or other actions are illegal. In this case, the citizen has the right to prove in court and complain to law enforcement agencies that the electricity was turned off without warning.

Written warning

After notification of an outage, the electricity consumer has 20 days during which to take one of two actions:

• repay the debt in full;
• negotiate with representatives of energy sales on installment payment of debt for a period of up to six months. Typically, utility service providers meet halfway - they accept the client’s application with a request for an installment plan and conclude an appropriate agreement.

If you do not respond to the notification in any way, the citizen is given an official warning about a power outage against signature or sent by registered mail.

After this, the debtor has only 3 days to ensure that the home is not left without electricity.

Please note: the notice must include the date and time of the outage.

Act of disconnection

Only after the consumer has not responded to two warnings, employees of the energy supply organization have the right to come and disconnect the home from the power grid, sealing the electricity meter. But even at this stage, not everything is clear.

Energy sales representatives are required to draw up a disconnection report. This is required both by the rules for turning off electricity, approved by the mentioned government decree, and by the norms of the Civil Code.