What happens if you don't pay for electricity? Calculation of the amount of the penalty and the conditions under which the electricity in the apartment is turned off. How are penalties calculated for non-payment of electricity? Calculation of penalties for electricity to individuals

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In 2016, Russia tightened sanctions for non-payers for utilities and resources. Now accumulating debts for electricity has become even less profitable. Late fees increase proportionally depending on how long the payment for energy resources is delayed.

How is the penalty calculated for electricity debt?

The legislation establishes the following procedure: the presence of an unpaid invoice during the first month remains without consequences, but penalties are accrued from the second month.”

Let’s assume that a consumer has accumulated a debt of five thousand rubles, the overdue amount is 150 days. The Central Bank refinancing rate today is 9%. No penalties will be charged for the first 30 days.

For the next 60 days, penalties are calculated as follows: 5000 (debt amount) multiplied by 60 (number of days of delay), the resulting number is multiplied by 9 (refinancing rate) and divided by 300. The final number is obtained in kopecks, so it must be divided by 100. The fine will be 90 rubles.

If the delay exceeds 150 days, then over the next 60 days the amount of the penalty more than doubles: the resulting number must be divided not by 300, but by 130. If you add charges for monthly electricity consumption, the amount of debt can turn out to be quite impressive.

Under what conditions can electricity be cut off for debt?

If the consumer ignores payment, the resource provider has the right to apply to the courts. The court collects not only the main debt, but also legal costs, that is, in addition to the main debt, the client will also have to pay a state fee.

If the debt for electricity exceeds the sum of two monthly payments, calculated on the basis of consumption standards, the energy sales company has the right to limit energy supply. This rule applies to all customers, regardless of whether they have a meter. That is, if a consumer uses more than twice the normal amount of electricity in a month, he can be disconnected from the network as early as the next month if he does not pay on time.

“Standard" is an average indicator, and it, as a rule, differs from actual consumption, is established by regional authorities and may differ in different subjects of the federation. For example, in the Moscow region, for two people living in a two-room apartment in a house with gas stoves, it is 88 kilowatt-hours per person.

The amount of debt due to which residents may have their electricity cut off is calculated as follows:

88 kilowatt-hours (standard) is multiplied by two (the number of residents), multiplied by two months, then multiplied by the tariff (5.04 rubles per kilowatt-hour).

It turns out 1774.08 rubles. If the amount of debt exceeds this number, the energy sales company has the right to limit or disconnect the apartment from the power supply.

Electricity can be returned only after paying the debt and the expenses of the network organization for carrying out technical measures to disconnect/connect the facility to the power grid. Depending on the distance, type of restriction and complexity of the work, the amount can range from one to six thousand rubles.

Also, persistent defaulters may have property arrested or confiscated, and funds in bank accounts, including credit cards, may be seized. In addition, debtors will not be able to travel abroad or obtain a bank loan.

A law aimed at increasing the payment discipline of energy consumers was signed (Federal Law of November 3, 2015 No. 307-FZ " ").

The document establishes a fixed amount of penalties for violation by the consumer of obligations to timely pay for energy resources (gas, electricity, thermal energy (power) or coolant, hot, drinking or technical water), as well as services related to the supply of such resources. The amendments will affect only those consumers, housing organizations and citizens who do not pay for the supplied energy resources for a long period of time. In relation to a conscientious citizen payer, the law provides for the abolition of penalties in the first month of delay. In case of delay from 31 to 90 days, the amount of the currently valid penalty will remain - 1/300 of the refinancing rate, and from 91 days the penalty will be 1/130 of the Bank of Russia refinancing rate of the amount not paid on time for each day of delay.

At the same time, the amount of the penalty is differentiated for certain categories of consumers and buyers of energy resources (homeowners, management organizations of the housing and communal services complex, homeowners' associations, housing, housing construction and other specialized consumer cooperatives). For example, for management companies, as well as heat and water supply enterprises for non-payment of energy resources, the penalty will be 1/300 of the refinancing rate from 1 to 60 days of delay, 1/170 of the refinancing rate from 61 to 90 days of delay, 1/130 of the refinancing rate from 91 days overdue. For all other consumers, the penalty is set at 1/130 of the refinancing rate from the first day of delay.

In addition, the Government of the Russian Federation is authorized to establish criteria for identifying consumers who have arrears in paying for energy resources. The latter will be required to provide energy suppliers with security for the fulfillment of payment obligations in the form of an independent guarantee.

At the same time, additional conditions were introduced for concluding lease agreements for heat supply facilities, centralized hot water supply, cold water supply or sanitation systems, individual objects of such systems that are state or municipal property (conclusion of an energy supply or purchase and sale of electricity agreement, provision of bank guarantees for the fulfillment of obligations).

For details of payment for utility services when transferring real estate for free use, please see "Encyclopedia of solutions. Agreements and other transactions" Internet version of the GARANT system. Get 3 days free!

The law also provides:

• strengthening administrative responsibility for unauthorized connection to electrical and heating networks, oil and gas pipelines. The fine for citizens has been increased from 3-4 to 10-15 thousand rubles, for officials - from 6-8 to 30-80 thousand rubles, for legal entities - from 60-80 to 100-200 thousand rubles;
• establishment of administrative liability for violation of the procedure for complete or partial limitation of electricity consumption, the procedure for limiting and stopping the supply of thermal energy, supply and withdrawal of gas, or the procedure for temporarily stopping or limiting water supply, sewerage, transportation of water or wastewater;
• introduction of fines for violation of the established procedure for providing security for the fulfillment of obligations to pay for electric energy (power), gas, thermal energy (power) or coolant, associated with non-fulfillment (improper fulfillment) of obligations to pay for them.

According to statistics, as of October 1, 2015, the total debt of consumers for energy resources amounted to 850 billion rubles. It is expected that the adopted amendments will improve payment discipline in the area of ​​energy consumption. The changes will come into force 30 days after the date of official publication of the law, with the exception of a number of norms for which different deadlines are established. The law was published yesterday (November 4).

Thus the amount of the fine is:

• for individuals – from 3000–4000 to 10000–15000 rubles;
• for persons holding managerial positions - from 6,000–8,000 to 30,000–80,000 rubles;
• for legal entities – from 60,000–80,000 to 100,000–200,000 rubles;

The law also provides for fines if a consumer violates the restrictions established for electricity consumption. Thus, the fines are as follows:

• for legal entities – 100,000–20,000 rubles;
• for persons holding managerial positions – 10,000–100,000 rubles.

Debt collection through the courts The process of debt collection itself is not regulated at the legislative level. That is why it often happens that when collecting debts from debtors, the Housing Office has to go to court. The law allows such actions.

How will the accrual of penalties for late utility payments change in 2018?

This option for dealing with debtors is very effective today. Debt collection issues are resolved in court in two ways:

• the method by which the court order is issued;
• the method by which judges consider a claim.

The method by which an application for a court order is submitted is simpler and takes relatively little time.

Penalty for light

This method is not always available and has significant disadvantages, namely:

• there are a number of essential requirements for documentation;
• presence of controversial situations;
• the possibility of the debtor filing an objection against the execution of the order. In this situation, the judge will usually overturn the order. If this happens, then you can only file a claim in the future.

When collecting debts, filing a claim is a more suitable option.

In this case, the plaintiff must prove that:

• the debtor is obliged to bear such expenses. To do this, documents are presented confirming that the premises belong to the defendant;
• the debtor has a certain amount of debt.

  To do this, it is enough to present a bank statement about the payments made.

How are penalties calculated for non-payment of electricity?

The structure of the act includes the following points:

• Information about the shutdown (partial or complete);
• Time and date of these actions;
• Last name, first name, patronymic of the defaulter, including information such as his personal account number, residential address (the address at which the debt is disconnected);
• Descriptions of all complex measures that were carried out during the shutdown procedure;
• Debtor's account number;
• Latest meter readings;
• Input shutdown level for partial resource limitation;
• On what basis is the procedure carried out?
• Amount of debt for electricity;
• Additional reasons for disconnection, if any;
• Details and signatures of the service provider.

The document must be drawn up in triplicate, all of which must be signed by both the supplier and the consumer.

Is it legal to charge penalties for electricity?

Info

You should be wary of eviction if payments have not been received within the last six months. By decision of the court, they also have the right to describe and confiscate some property.

Law on penalties for utilities

The specialist removes the installed seals, draws up a similar report as in case of a disconnection, and electricity appears within 24 hours after depositing the debt amount into your personal account number. Thus, even if the power has already been turned off for debt, all that is needed to resume the supply of the resource is time and money, taking into account fines, of course.

Therefore, no matter what the reasons for the lack of payments, if it is possible to deposit at least some amount into the account, complete non-payment cannot be allowed. According to the law, if you have receipts indicating that you have made at least the minimum payments, you have no right to turn off the lights.

When considering what to do if the energy company has ignored the minimum payments, it makes sense to contact the housing inspector. However, for this, the debt should not be too significant.

How can you avoid paying rent penalties?

If such an agreement between these persons was not formalized, then in this case the management company will be guided by the norms prescribed in Article 395 of the Civil Code, according to which the amount of the penalty directly depends on the refinancing rate adopted by the Central Bank. Debt is accrued if a person does not have time to pay utilities before the 10th day of the month that follows the billing month, or another period established in the agreement with the management organization. Legal rights to refuse The deadlines within which payment for housing and provided utilities must be made are prescribed in Article 155 of the Housing Code, according to which this procedure is carried out before the 10th day of the month following the billing month. Article 155.

• the new law also states that after three months, the amount of the penalty will increase to 1/130 of the refinancing rate for each overdue day;
• the law allows for service disconnection or legal action if the homeowner continues to ignore payment.

The law provides for the following fines for company managers and enterprises:

• if the overdue period is 3–4 months, then the refinancing rate will be 1/170;
• if the period of delay is more than 91 days, the daily rate will be 1/130.

Amounts of fines provided for by legislative acts The law also provides for increased administrative liability if the homeowner unauthorizedly connects to electricity and heating networks, gas pipelines or water supplies.

Do they have the right to charge penalties for electricity?

Every citizen of the Russian Federation is required by law to pay for utility services provided to him on time. If for some reason he does not do this, then the process of calculating penalties for non-payment or late payments begins.

Attention

To regulate this process, a corresponding law was adopted in October 2015. Now, from January 1, 2016, utility services have the right to apply the following penalties for non-payment or late payments:

• accrual of penalties;
• filing a lawsuit to collect debt;
• limit or suspend the provision of its services if non-payment is more than three months.

When collecting debts, the debtor is first sent a notice indicating the amount of the debt and an offer to pay it voluntarily before a certain date.

Do they have the right to charge penalties for electricity?

Despite the fact that it is in no way possible to write off the debt of a defaulter, even through court, he can delay time for himself or even request compensation for moral damage. The duty of energy sales employees is to timely officially inform debtors that if they fail to repay the debt, their electricity will be turned off in the near future. Information is provided in writing and the document is delivered by post or against the consumer’s signature, which is less common. Other methods of delivering a warning are illegal. The company is required to send such notices twenty days before the actual shutdown.

During these twenty days, the defaulter has the opportunity to correct the situation to avoid disconnection. Dear readers! Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique.

Unlike many goods, buying electricity is a more “complicated” thing: it cannot be bought in advance and spent exactly as much as was purchased.

This often leads to debt among consumers: by not budgeting ahead of time, they may end up with a larger bill than they planned and find themselves unable to pay.

How to pay

Paying for electricity is not difficult: you need to take readings from the meter of your apartment or house every month, subtract the amount spent for this period and multiply the number by the tariff used.

The latter can be found on the supplier's website or by phone.

Payment can be made by:

• a receipt sent by the energy supplier;
• payment book - it is filled out by the consumer himself, while suppliers periodically check and issue an invoice for energy spent but not paid for;
• prepayment card - often used by firms and enterprises so as not to wait for full payment.

In the latter case, payment is made in installments:

• 30% of payment must be received by the 10th of the month;
• 40% - until the 25th of the same month;
• the remaining amount must be paid by the 18th of the next month, when full settlement of the supplier and consumer occurs.

If it turns out that the consumer paid more than he spent, the difference goes towards the next month's prepayment.

It is worth noting: The contract may indicate other payment terms, but the supplier has no right to demand payment earlier than the above deadlines.

1. Meter readings must be taken by the 26th of each month. This should be done on the same day to avoid confusion.
2. Full payment must be made by the 15th day of the following month using the methods indicated below.

If the supplier provides other deadlines, for example, payment every few months, you need to adapt to them.

Payment can be made:

When can they turn it off?

Any energy consumption occurs on the basis of an electricity supply agreement concluded between the supplier and the consumer.

It is concluded for 3 years and is extended for a year after the end of this period, and it can also be terminated one month before the final date.

The contract also stipulates all the nuances: payment terms, tariffs, amount of late fees, etc. Non-payment is considered to be the failure to receive money to the supplier's account within the period established by the contract and law.

If this occurs, the supplier takes the following steps:

1. After 20 days from the last date, the consumer is sent a warning about a possible power outage if the money is not paid.
2. 30 days after the notice is sent, if the consumer does not pay the bill, the bill may be disconnected. They cannot turn off the electricity before weekends or holidays.

If the consumer cannot pay the entire amount at once, he must contact the electricity supplier with a request for a deferment or installment payment.

The application must be accompanied by documents indicating a difficult financial situation: a certificate from work or a notice of dismissal, a statement of receipt of a pension, etc.

Take into account: the indicated 30 days are calculated from the moment the notification is sent to the recipient, and not from the moment of receipt: if the letter is lost in the mail, the shutdown will still occur on time.

In addition to turning off the electricity, there is another way to punish debtors - penalties. This is a penalty or fine that the debtor is obliged to pay for late payment of utilities or other services.

In this case, the amount of the penalty depends on the number of overdue days:

You can find out the exact amount to be paid from the supplier himself before paying or use special online calculators so as not to make a mistake.