Fine for unauthorized gas connection 2021

Unauthorized connection to a gas pipeline - what does this mean?

Cutting into a highway or illegal connection, for example after disconnection for non-payment, is punishable by law. People are trying in any way to save on gas. They can rip off a plug or seal or cut into a pipe.

In the village

Responsibility for such activities can vary: fines of a certain size depending on the severity of the violation and even imprisonment.

It is important to remember that unauthorized intervention in a gas pipeline can have serious consequences, therefore, according to the law of the Russian Federation, all actions must first be negotiated with the gas service.

If it is discovered that a citizen is illegally using resources without a gas meter, then what fine he will pay depends on the severity of the violations.

Signs characterizing illegal tapping into a gas pipeline

In 2021, at the legislative level, gas equipment and the complex of associated communications used for its maintenance are recognized as factors of increased danger. Tough measures are explained by the fact that unauthorized connection to gas networks can create conditions that threaten the life, health, and property of citizens.

Illegal, unauthorized connection, subject to a fine, is expressed as:

arbitrary installation of the slab, not accompanied by the execution of the permits required in this case;
inserting a gas pipeline into a home for the purpose of operating a water heater, stove, boiler, fireplace;
connecting gas-powered equipment, even after a refusal was received from Gorgaz or Mezhregiongaz to carry out this kind of interference in communications.

A fine for connecting a gas stove may be due to unauthorized installation.
The law clearly states the proper procedure for the use and disposal of the equipment in question. You cannot carry out such manipulations yourself; this limitation is fixed in the current legislative norms.

Fine for unauthorized connection of gas and stove

All citizens cannot independently connect to the gas pipeline. If a gas consumer connects without the permission of the organization that supplies the population with blue fuel, such a connection is called unauthorized.

Connecting a private house

If a violation is detected, the fuel supply is immediately stopped and Gorgaz must take measures to eliminate the problem and punish those responsible.

In addition to the fine, the offender will have to pay an increased price for gas, which is calculated depending on the capacity of the illegally used gas equipment and its round-the-clock operation from the date specified in the resolution on the illegal connection.

If it is difficult to determine the date from which the violations began, the price for gas is calculated from the date when the last inspection was carried out.

The Administrative Code states that the operation of a gas stove for individuals will entail a penalty of 10–15 thousand rubles. Cafes, restaurants, private firms and other legal entities must pay 100–200 thousand rubles.

Subtleties

Lawyers argue that in practice one can notice legal incidents in the Code of Administrative Offences. The Code prescribes measures in case of violation, but does not take into account specific equipment. Studying the cases, we can conclude that most often household consumers are held accountable for unauthorized connections to the gas pipeline.

Disabling unauthorized tapping

Regardless of whether the stove was used or the citizen illegally moved the gas water heater, he will pay 10-15 thousand rubles. For such actions, a preliminary design and permission from the gas service are required. This also applies to the use of a gas cylinder and fireplaces in a house, bathhouse or apartment.

Self-connection of a gas stove

On the one hand, there are a lot of people who will say that they installed all the gas equipment in their residential premises on their own and there were no complaints from the gas service against them. On the other hand, Article 7.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a fine for citizens in the amount of 10,000 to 15,000 rubles.

In addition, in accordance with Government Decree No. 410 of May 14, 2013, the gas service, if it detects an unauthorized replacement of gas equipment, may suspend the gas supply.

Punishment for tampering with the counter

They try to deceive the gas service and save money in different ways. Most often, special magnets are used. Illegal activity in the form of manipulation of metering devices can cause serious consequences.

Connection after disconnection for non-payment

If the company finds out that the readings are untrue, then they will not be taken into account when calculating the amount for gas, and the consumer will pay for the service after recalculation by the organization’s employees, and the amount will be much higher.

All points for calculating a fine for operating a gas pipeline illegally are specified in paragraph 62 of the Rules for the provision of utility services to owners of houses and apartments, approved by Resolution No. 354.

Each consumer is obliged to control the operation of the meter in an apartment or in a private house, and not to violate the integrity of the seal. If the seal is damaged, you must visit the gas service and provide evidence that this happened accidentally. If gas workers themselves see a violation during an inspection, they will not be able to avoid punishment.

Illegal gas disconnection

Today, the work of gas services cannot be called ideal. If you look at various situations related to gas supply, you can see that gas workers act differently in different situations. For example, they can turn off the gas if you fail to pay for 2 months. They may not turn off for six months, or even more than one year. Another reason at the discretion of the gas service is late submission of meter readings or, in the opinion of gas workers, the owner has not lived in the apartment or house for a long time and does not use gas. In real life, there are cases of illegal gas shutdown in an apartment or private house by gas companies.

The reasons for this may be:

failure to transmit meter readings to Regiongas for several months in a row;
malfunction of gas equipment invented by gas workers;
rare appearance of the customer with whom the contract was concluded at the place of use of gas appliances;
inappropriate methods of warning gas workers about a possible outage.

The latter includes cases where the gas company sends a notification to the customer about a possible interruption of gas supply using a registered letter. Without waiting for notification of receipt of this letter, it disconnects unilaterally. If a claim is filed in court by a victim of an illegal gas shutoff due to the lack of confirmed notification, the court often sides with the plaintiff, but not always. Therefore, if such a situation arises, it is necessary to select a competent lawyer.

Is it possible to appeal?

An appeal is possible through higher gas services. If this does not help, then you should contact the court, prosecutor's office or Rospotrebnadzor.

Near a residential building

The court is the final authority in which all conflicts are resolved, so people turn to it when other options do not help. In 2019–2020, inspections of houses and apartments were tightened, so few people manage to avoid punishment and only with strong evidence of innocence and with the help of a good lawyer.

What is the correct connection order?

According to the “Rules for the supply of gas to meet the household needs of citizens”, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 21, 2008 No. 549, only equipment that meets the technical standards for it is allowed for use and installation. In addition, the Rules indicate that in case of any changes in the composition of household gas appliances, the user is obliged to notify the gas workers. Otherwise, they have every right to disconnect you from the gas supply (according to clause 45 of the same Rules).

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In order not to violate the letter of the law, and to avoid the prospect of paying a considerable fine and even criminal liability, we recommend that you act in accordance with the established procedure, and not deal with connection issues yourself:

We contact a specialized service. There is one in every locality (Mosgaz - in the capital, Orenburggaz - respectively, in Orenburg, etc.).
There we write a statement addressed to the boss, in which we should state the essence of the appeal (we talk about the desire to replace the old equipment, move it, install it, etc.).
We meet with the specialist assigned to you, discuss the cost of the work with him, and sign the estimate.
We pay the invoice for the services provided.
We accept the work of specialists, check for the presence of seals and signatures, so that after a while we do not encounter the same problems and relieve ourselves of responsibility in case of incorrect connection.

Officially, private companies licensed and approved by SRO, whose employees have been trained and certified, have the right to install and replace gas equipment, except for gas distribution organizations.

Correctly connecting a gas stove will save you from many problems with regulatory authorities and will protect your apartment.

How to connect gas supply correctly

Connecting to a gas pipeline should begin with choosing an organization that will deal with gas supply issues for a private home. The entire registration procedure consists of several stages:

It is necessary to draw up an application addressed to the head of the institution that will provide the service. It should state why it is necessary to connect a particular house to gas.
The company will set a date and time for specialists to visit a specific property.
After studying the information received, the company’s employees draw up an estimate that the home owner will have to sign.
The service applicant must pay for the work; in case of non-payment, connection is impossible.
After completing the work, the owner of the house checks everything and signs the document.

Illegal connection underground

Only after the right supplier has been selected and all documents have been completed will it be possible to avoid a fine for unauthorized connection of blue fuel to a private home. Connecting an unregistered house to a gas pipeline is impossible without registration in the manner prescribed by law.

Criminal liability.

As mentioned earlier, judicial practice on gas supply provides for criminal punishment for unauthorized gas connection and incriminates this act as gas theft. As a rule, for committing an act for the first time, a citizen can get away with an administrative fine and payment for the resources spent. Repeated violation faces criminal penalties up to and including imprisonment.

If the illegal connection to gas led to any consequences, then the violator will no longer get away with an administrative fine.

If the gas service turned off illegally

The gas service does not do its job perfectly. Therefore, there are cases when services are illegally disconnected. If you study all the cases, you will notice that gas may be turned off after two months of non-payment, or they may not pay attention to late payments for a year or more.

Dismantling

The gas service pays more attention to the consumer if he regularly fails to provide meter readings on time. Problems also arise if the owner does not live in the apartment for a long time and does not use gas.

How are violators identified?

You cannot, at your own discretion, that is, without prior approval from the gas service, unauthorizedly connect any equipment that consumes industrial gas in a private house, separate apartment or apartment complex. The illegal introduction of such technology entails administrative or criminal liability, depending on the nature of the consequences.

Employees of the competent authorities systematically participate in activities aimed at identifying and punishing consumers of natural fuels who have not registered in accordance with the general procedure. The fact of the violation emerges during the examination of the gas pipes through which fuel is delivered to the house, and the presence of connections to other pipes is revealed. The reason for the inspection may be a complaint from citizens who have accused someone of illegally using gas.

There was an error

Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Rostov-on-Don publishes reports every month: in October the company identified more than two hundred interferences in the operation of gas meters, 172 in November, and the total number over the past year exceeded two thousand. The company estimated the damage at 137 million rubles. The largest number of violations of the integrity of seals was established at the Rostov, Taganrog and Zernograd sites. We will talk about one of them.

The editor received a letter from the village of Novozolotovka, Neklinovsky district. Local resident Vera Gromakova received a fine upon discharge in the amount of 185 thousand rubles from Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Rostov-on-Don in the city of Taganrog.

“Four years ago I got a gas meter. It was installed by Taganrogmezhraigaz JSC, the device was from this organization. The controllers of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Rostov-on-Don sealed the meter, there is an act,” writes Vera Mikhailovna.

On April 19, 2021, inspectors came to the Gromakovs’ house to check the gas equipment and take control readings. No documents were presented.

“When they started checking the gas meter on the street, they demanded that the previously installed protective metal box be removed from it. I was obliged to buy it from the same organization when completing the paperwork. My husband was sent to get a screwdriver. The controllers were left alone at the counter. When the husband returned with a screwdriver and unscrewed the front panel, one of the inspectors immediately pulled the seal off the device, saying that it had been broken. After which she hid the seal in her pocket. The request to hand it over for examination was refused. After which we continued to inspect the meter and realized that we were in a hurry, since my meter did not have a factory seal. I submitted an application to Taganrogmezhraigaz JSC, they told me that they have many clients like me and they will solve this problem with the head of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Rostov-on-Don for the city of Taganrog. At the same time, Taganrogmezhraigaz JSC does not deny that it installed a meter for me without a factory seal, citing the fact that Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Rostov-on-Don sealed such a meter, which means there were no violations. And now they have appeared,” wrote Vera Mikhailovna.

Taganrogmezhraigaz JSC did not comment on the situation to Peasant.

After the initial inspection, the inspectors began moving a magnet along the meter. Magnet testing is one of the simplest. At last year’s press conference, the head of the subscriber department of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Rostov-on-Don, Sergei Getman, clearly showed how a “hacked” meter reacts to a magnet: as it approached, the numbers on the display mysteriously disappeared, and then appeared again.

“Based on the explanations of the manufacturers, we compiled instructions with photographs and taught inspectors to distinguish real seals from fake ones,” said Getman.

“We don’t have greenhouses or booths...”

“I met many people who did not have a factory seal on the meter,” says Gromakova. – I came to JSC Taganrogmezhraigaz, they said: we understand that they are making claims against you. But don't expect any official confirmation from us. But with Gazprom it was so unpleasant. My husband’s blood pressure jumped and he fell ill. I'm nervous, in shock, I don't understand anything. And the inspectors walk back and forth around the house, looking into rooms, looking for something. They walked like that until I woke up and yelled at them.

Soon after this, the Gromakovs changed the meter to a new one, but the family received a fine of 185 thousand rubles.

The Gromakovs installed the new meter immediately

– My husband and I are pensioners. We do not have greenhouses or booths. We only need gas to heat a house with an area of eighty-six square meters. You can calculate by paid receipts and the volume of gas consumed - my husband and I did not use the left gas, we had enough money to pay monthly gas bills. I will defend my innocence to the end.

Vera Mikhailovna kept her word: she became one of the few who managed to fight off the fine.

“At first I didn’t believe it, I thought, I’ll explain how everything happened, and everything will resolve itself,” recalls Gromakova. – I decided to go to the head of the gas service. I made an appointment - there was a free “window” in only three weeks. But I ended up with a young specialist, and she looked at me with such contempt! I just wanted to explain that this must be a mistake, and she told me: “Whatever you say, I don’t believe you, you’re a fraud.” I stood up and replied: “I won’t even talk to you.” She turned around and left. What can I explain to such a person who obviously considers me a fraud?

Justice was found

In August, Gromakova received a summons to a pre-trial hearing - Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Rostov-on-Don filed a lawsuit against her. Vera Mikhailovna came to the meeting with her lawyer. At the trial, the lawyer asked: “Was this check legal? If it’s legal, prove it.”

“The gas workers didn’t answer, they were silent. No one from the company came to subsequent hearings, so the court left their claim without consideration. But the debt continued, and the penalty had already accumulated - almost twenty thousand. And saving drowning people... I sat down at the computer and began writing letters: to “Peasant”, to the city administration, to the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Rostov Region; to Moscow, to the antimonopoly committee...

One of the organizations forwarded Vera Mikhailovna’s message to the State Housing Inspectorate of the Rostov Region. Soon she received a call from the chief specialist in the Taganrog sector, Natalya Kuznetsova.

“She asked to send additional documents - I, of course, sent everything to her,” says Vera Mikhailovna. “Then Natalya Vladimirovna calls again: “We had a commission meeting, we decided that the fine was imposed on you illegally, and decided to remove it.” And sure enough, by the New Year I received a debt-free receipt. What a gift!

I didn’t pay a penny of that fine. And you know, I kept the old counter. For memory.

Who else can the housing inspection help in such situations and what documents are needed for this, “Peasant” asked to tell in more detail. Read about it in upcoming issues.

Act on illegal connection: form and appeal

This document is drawn up by representatives of the controlling organization and must include the following information:

information about the officials drawing up the act;
information about the identified offender;
a description of the fact of connection to networks without meter regulation, information about the illegal operation of gas equipment, information about the volume of theft of natural fuel;
description of sanctions against the violating citizen;
instructions on the need to eliminate the consequences of illegal actions;
ways to appeal the act, the date of its execution.

The fine for connecting a gas stove is issued by representatives of the regulatory organization.
Punishment cannot be avoided; if a violation is proven, it will be charged in any case. But the specific size and specificity of the penalty are determined depending on the environmental conditions and the situation surrounding the unauthorized use of fuel.

You can protect your rights by appealing the act of illegally connecting to the network. This measure allows you to adjust the assigned amount of responsibility, reduce the negative consequences for the offender, and regulate the procedure for eliminating mistakes made by a citizen. An appeal is made to a higher gas authority; this step is the primary method of restoring one’s rights.

If the result is not satisfactory, if the authorized bodies have not responded in any way, the complaint is sent to the prosecutor's office, Rospotrebnadzor or directly to the court. The court takes the position of last resort in resolving legal conflicts; most often, a claim is filed in cases where the expected effect from other options was not obtained.

If gas service employees discover a violation of the legislation in force in this area, there is a high probability of additional charges due to the uncontrolled use of fuel. Any measures to increase the calculation of payments for the resource in question can be appealed in the manner indicated above. If we analyze law enforcement practice, it becomes obvious that the most effective method of restoring the rights of citizens is the court. But it must be taken into account that tapping into a gas pipeline that does not have formal approval must subsequently be legalized.

Unauthorized creation of a branch in the form of a domestic gas pipeline is a criminal offense. Responsibility for such an offense is provided for in Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: how theft can be classified as the introduction of an illegal tee, long-term non-payment for a natural resource.

Sanctions for theft are not only monetary, but can also be embodied in imprisonment. Here, the amount of harm caused is of decisive importance: in particular, if the damage caused to the organization exceeds 5 thousand rubles, the offense is regarded as a crime falling under the jurisdiction of criminal law.