How electricians turn off the light. Where to call if the lights are turned off without warning? Helpful information

A management company or HOA is an intermediary between an organization that provides electricity services and residents of a house. It turns out that the UK is responsible for paying electricity to the company providing it, and the residents of the apartment building are responsible for paying the UK. In order to understand whether the management company has the right to turn off energy for debts, you need to understand the terminology. In accordance with the law, restriction, suspension and shutdown of the power supply may be carried out. The restriction is the provision of limited traffic to the subscriber. For example, turning off the lights for several hours a day. The suspension implies a complete cessation of the supply of electricity for an indefinite period, but the service contract is not broken. Shutdown - the termination of the supply of electricity due to the termination of the contract.

What the law says

As of 2018, the issue of electricity supply to citizens is regulated by two main bills:

1. Articles 539-548 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Article 546 states that disconnecting or temporarily disabling the supply of electricity is possible only by agreement of the parties. But in fact, such an agreement is a contract for the supply of services concluded by the owner of a dwelling. There is a mandatory clause stating that in case of non-payment to the debtor they can turn off the lights. In addition, in the same 546 article it is said that before the cessation of electricity supply the defaulter should receive a warning.
2. Government Decree under serial number 354 of 2011, in particular Chapter 11, which specifies the features of limiting and suspending utilities. So, paragraph 117 of the resolution states that in case of partial or full non-payment of debts for utilities to the non-payer, they can be suspended. The only thing is that the decree forbids turning off the heating during the heating season and cold water, regardless of the time of year.

If the utilities are not paid on time, the UK should send a notification to the subscriber about their possible limitation and (or) suspension. This can be done through registered mail, calling by phone (mobile or home) and recording a conversation, typing information on a form of housing and communal services and sending it by mail or giving a notice in person, against receipt.

If you ignore the requirements for payment of electricity, the management company has the right to disable it

If after 20 days from the moment the debtor received the warning payment was not made, the chairman of the management company (partnership of homeowners) has the right to decide on limiting the power supply to the premises. If after the next 10 days no payment has been made, the supply of electricity to the apartment may be suspended. In the event that there is no technical possibility to limit power supply, the Criminal Code has the right to suspend the supply of services after 20 days from the date of receipt of the notification by the non-payer.

Clause 120 of the same decree guarantees the debtor that in the case of payment, the electricity back-up will take place no later than 2 days from the moment of its (payment) receipt by the company.

The decree prohibits restricting and suspending the supply of utilities if it affects other residents of the house who make timely payments for utility services (does not apply to cases of emergency, planned, etc. outages).

That is, the HOA has the right to turn off electricity for debts on a rent. Moreover, in this respect, all categories of citizens are equal before the law: people with disabilities, single mothers, pensioners, etc. Everyone can turn off the light for non-payment.

At what duty do they turn off the electricity

Among other things, Government Decision No. 354 indicates the minimum amount of debt at which the supply of electricity can be limited (suspended). But it is important to know at what debt electricity is cut off in the apartment for non-payment. According to paragraph 118 of the said Resolution, the limitation (suspension) of power supply can occur when there is a debt of two average monthly amounts of payment, which should be calculated from the established standard for electric energy consumption.

If the subscriber’s debt is less than indicated, they cannot restrict or suspend the delivery of services. Including if at the moment there is a daily limitation of power supply (shutdown for several hours), and the citizen paid, which reduced the total amount of debt to a mark lower than two monthly average rates, then this restriction should be removed and full power supply turned on. But if the service has been legally suspended (the light is turned off completely), it will be renewed only in the event of full repayment of the debt.

After a power outage, the meter is sealed, and self-removal of the seal is considered illegal

How is the shutdown

After 30, and in some cases 20 days, after a citizen receives a notice from the management board of the Criminal Code about the need to pay a debt, the service may be suspended. The power outage is carried out by a qualified electrician. The presence of a company representative who draws up an act of suspension of energy supply is mandatory. If the non-payer is currently at home - he is also invited to draw up an act. In this case, the debtor has the right to demand from the company representative a document confirming that he is an employee of the Criminal Code.

The procedure for drawing up the act is as follows:

• type of change in the delivery of services (limitation or suspension);
• date and exact time of drawing up the act;
• Name of the owner of the apartment, number of his personal account and address of the house;
• phased procedure content;
• counter indicators;
• reason for suspension of services.

During the preparation of the act by the representative of the Criminal Code, the electrician disconnects the meter from the network and seals it so that the debtor does not try to open the shield by himself and reconnect the meter. If the owner of the apartment is in place, he is offered to sign in the drawn up act, but he has the right to refuse this, which will be noted accordingly.

What to do if the power is turned off

If the light was turned off properly (they notified the subscriber in advance and drew up an act), then the debtor has only one way out - to deposit the necessary amount into the company’s account in order to return the supply of electricity to his home.

After making the payment, you should take the receipt and personally transfer it to the management company. This may not be necessary, but it will turn on the light faster. After confirming the repayment of the debt by the subscriber, the UK is obliged to return the full supply of services to the user within 2 days (such a period is specified in Government Decision No. 354).

In case of unlawful disconnection, a person has the right to file a complaint with higher authorities

If the disconnection did not occur in an improper manner, the subscriber can file a complaint about the company’s actions, and in addition, it is possible to force the Criminal Code to judicially recover the cost of moral damage. In accordance with Article 546 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Government Decision No. 354, power outages are not allowed without prior notice to the user. If a citizen has not received notice from the Criminal Code about a possible suspension of electricity supply, he can:

1. Send a complaint to the name of the head of the company.
2. Submit an application to the prosecutor.
3. Start a trial.

But the current practice is such that most often citizens deliberately evade receiving notification of a possible suspension of a service. If such a fact is proved, then the disconnected light will be switched back to the subscriber only after full payment of the debt.

Caution scammers

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation knows several dozen cases where fraudsters tried to “steal” money from citizens under the guise of employees of a management company. One of the cases occurred in Moscow when two men went to apartments of apartment buildings and informed citizens about their debts. If the tenants themselves were sure that they had no debts - they showed receipts, after which the “employees of the Criminal Code” apologized and referred to the fact that the payment had apparently not reached them yet. For the rest, who doubted the existence of a debt hole, the men offered to settle on the spot or they immediately turned off the light.

Such actions of fraudsters entail criminal liability, therefore, citizens should be vigilant and always check their documents with the employees of the Criminal Code. In addition, members of the Criminal Code cannot demand that they pay money on hand. A citizen is obliged to deposit funds into their current account and in order to avoid surprises keep the receipts received.

About disconnection from utilities will be described in the video:

Attention! Due to the latest changes in legislation, the legal information in this article could be out of date!

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Every day, people are used to watching TV, cooking on an electric stove, using other electrical appliances, turning on the lights. The life of an ordinary person is unthinkable without electricity. However, its use must be paid regularly. Otherwise, a blackout will occur for non-payment.
  At what debt does it turn it off? Is there a penalty for unauthorized connection? You can find answers to these and other questions on this topic in this article.

Power Outage Act for Non-Payment

Numerous regulations in the field of housing and communal services provide for the uninterrupted high-quality provision of various communal services to owners (tenants) of residential premises. An arbitrary refusal to supply the necessary resources for a normal human life, including electricity, is not allowed.

However, the legislation defines in which cases it is possible to limit (stop) the supply of this resource.

The main regulatory acts in this area are:

• Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354 "On the provision of utilities to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings";
• and also, Decree No. 442 “On the functioning of the retail electric energy markets, full and (or) partial restriction of the regime of electric energy consumption”.

Who can turn off the electricity

According to the provisions of the above acts, if there are legal grounds, the contractor may limit (terminate) the provision of various utilities. In this case, the contractor is understood as the organization that provides consumers with one or another housing and communal services.

Electricity is supplied to homes by energy supply organizations.

Do they have the right to turn off the light of the Criminal Code

Electricity supply contracts may not be concluded directly by consumers with suppliers of this resource. In fact, when managing multi-apartment buildings of the UK or Homeowners Association, housing cooperatives, they will conclude contracts with suppliers.

Thus, the performer of this service will be the person with whom the contract for energy supply was concluded.

The management company can also take measures against non-payers, most importantly, establish with whom the contract was concluded.

Grounds for shutting down

Legislation does not allow unauthorized shutdown of electrical energy by a supplier. Resolutions No. 354 and 442 clearly spell out all the possible reasons for a power outage.

Conventionally, they can be combined into three groups:

• by agreement of the parties (consumer and energy retail company or UK);
• for reasons beyond the control of consumers (emergency and emergency situations, natural disasters, repair and preventive maintenance);
• due to consumer-dependent reasons (there is a communal debt, unsatisfactory emergency condition of devices and networks, other violation of obligations by the consumer).

Minimum debt to disconnect - 2 months

One of the most common reasons for a power outage is debt for light. In this regard, many consumers naturally raise the question of what kind of debt the electricity is cut off.

The answer is contained in paragraph 118 of Decree No. 354.

A measure such as turning off the light can be taken against a defaulter who has a debt of more than two months electricity bill. ⇐

The cut-off threshold defined by law cannot be changed arbitrarily.

How the rules cut off electricity, warnings

A power outage for non-payment can be made only in the prescribed manner. Only with its observance can the light switch off be considered legal. For what debt can leave without electricity, we have already figured out. Now you need to find out when the outage occurs and whether consumers should be warned about this.

The provisions of Decree No. 354 stipulate that upon disconnection due to non-payment, it is necessary to warn tenants about the forthcoming disconnection.

There are several ways to do this:

• by personal receipt on receipt;
• by registered letter (with notification);
• in the bill for housing services;
• by phone;
• by email;
• through the personal account of the payer in the system in the GIS housing and communal services,

The disconnection rules stipulate that after receiving the corresponding notification, the debtor has twenty days to pay off the debt. If repayment has not occurred, then an electricity restriction may be introduced for the non-payer. When there is no technical possibility to limit, they immediately turn off the light. If payment is not received within ten days after the restriction, they can also turn off the electricity.

The procedure for suspending the supply of this resource should not cause harm to other residents of the house, lead to damage to common property.

They can turn off the light without warning if there is a threat of accidents, natural disasters, repair work.

Drawing up an act during a power outage

With a direct power outage, an act of this should be drawn up. This document is made in three identical copies. It must indicate the address of the premises, the name of the consumer, what actions were performed and when, the number of the meter and its last readings, as well as on what basis and how much the light is turned off.

If there are objections, the consumer can make notes about this directly in the act. The document is signed and one of the copies is left to the tenants of the apartment. Below is a sample power cut off act.

Power outage to legal entities

With the blackout, everything is clear to citizens. But can they suspend the supply of electricity to legal entities. Various organizations are also consumers of individual utilities. Therefore, Resolution No. 442 provides such an opportunity.

In this case, you can not do without notification of the upcoming limitation of electricity. True for organizations, it is sent ten days before the planned outage.

Unauthorized connection and responsibility for it

No matter how much you want to speed up the connection of electricity, do not resort to illegal methods. Unauthorized connection of light can lead to a lot of adverse effects.

Firstly, if you delve into the counters, switchboards yourself, you can get an electric shock or spoil something. Pull wires from neighbors, extension cords are also not worth it.

Secondly, such actions can be identified. And the violators will be held accountable. In this case, the administrative code establishes fines ranging from one and a half to two thousand rubles for citizens, from thirty to forty thousand for legal entities.

Where to go to connect

Nobody wants to remain without light for a long time. Therefore, the question arises of where to turn and what to do to connect it. The surest way to return electricity is to pay off debt.   In the absence of a one-time opportunity, consumers have the right to ask for installments to pay the debt for six months. With documents proving payment or installment plan, you need to contact the utility contractor to connect electricity. You should know that this service is paid.

After receiving the application, the electrician comes home, removes the seals from the meter and draws up an act already on the inclusion of electricity. Decree No. 354 indicates how many days the connection should take place.

Unlawful blackout

Not always the procedure for power outages is followed properly. It is important to follow the established rules on the amount of debt to disconnect, notifying the consumer about the disconnection. If an illegal shutdown is made, then you can file a complaint about the housing department or the Criminal Code with the housing inspectorate, antitrust authorities, the prosecutor's office, or the court.

If the shutdown was illegal, then the perpetrators will receive a fine.

The court considers a large number of such disputes. Judicial practice indicates that for their solution it is necessary to establish the amount of debt, compliance with the procedure for disconnecting electric energy.

Conclusion

For non-payment of electricity bills, both legal entities and individuals can be left without electricity. The main thing is that at the same time all the rules for power outages are observed. For illegal disconnection, unauthorized connection provides liability.

We all sometimes find ourselves in unpleasant situations, one of which may well be a lack of money to pay for utility bills. As a rule, with a debt of several months, electricians come from the management company and turn off the electricity by sealing the meter. Caught in such a situation and do not know what to do if you turned off the light for non-payment? To begin, find out whether it is right for you to de-energize the apartment or private house. Below we have provided the order of actions that the management company (hereinafter, the UK) must carry out in order to disconnect you from the current electricity network by law. Check the information provided to find out where to go if a problem occurs and how to temporarily (illegally and legally) connect electricity.

On what basis can they turn off the electricity?

According to current laws, they can turn off the lights in your home if the non-payment is 3 or more standard monthly electricity charges. In addition, the Criminal Code is obliged to inform the non-payer of its intentions 30 days before the power outage. If after this period you have not paid the debt, you should receive another notification, which must be issued against receipt. The last notice that is issued to you says that if you do not pay the debt for the rent within 3 days, the management company will legally shut off the electricity.

This information is true and is taken from the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2011 N 354 "On the provision of utilities to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings."

If in your case the procedure was not the same, for example, the lights were turned off for non-payment without warning and without a court order, you can complain to the relevant authorities - the prosecutor’s office or the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). Also, when you find that there is no electricity, you will probably wonder, “where to call?”. First of all, call your management company, utilities or HOA, which will probably tell you why this happened.

Useful Tips

How to solve the problem yourself?

First you need to find out on what basis they turned off the light and whether electricians had the right to touch your meter at all. Of course, if you did not receive a written notice in your hands, this indicates that the disconnection occurred without warning. In this case, you need to complain to the above authorities. You can also say that illegal de-energization of the apartment caused you a number of problems, namely:

1. Missing food in the refrigerator, which stopped working.
2. Due to darkness, you stumbled and damaged something.

If you still attach evidence to this - a certificate of injury and sue the management company on the basis of arbitrariness, you can achieve good compensation that will cover part of the non-payment for which you turned off the lights in the house or apartment. There are also many nuances about which it is better to talk with a lawyer, for example, what to do if there is a non-payment for a long time but no one lives in the apartment.

If the procedure for disconnecting electricity for non-payment was carried out legally, and the Criminal Code acted by court order, you will have to pay the debt, get the appropriate receipt and visit the management company. There you will have to pay for the connection, the cost of which the organization itself will say (usually they require to pay 1000-1500 rubles). After paying all debts, the electrician is obliged to turn on the light for you no later than a day (24 hours), the time established by law,

What can be done while there is no electricity?

There are several ways that you can turn on the light while it was turned off for non-payment. Some, as you know, are illegal and threaten with decent fines, and some are quite legal and will help solve short-term difficulties. So, in order, we list all the possible ways to solve the problem:

We draw your attention to the fact that it’s very dangerous and illegal to climb into a floor electrical panel and connect the wires to a sealed meter back. Firstly, it is regarded as theft and is punishable by high fines. Secondly, without the skills in electrics, working with live wiring is very dangerous, so it’s better to solve the debt problem, contact the management company and fill out the documents, after which you will be connected to the light!

Video about how the generator works in the country.

To obtain the most detailed and accurate information on the procedure for suspending electricity consumption, you will need to turn to two legislative acts:

The text of the law is written in a complex legal language, difficult for a simple layman to perceive. Key points can be compiled into thematic paragraphs.

Illegal blackout in SNT (garden non-profit partnership)

Turning off power to SNT members is a common practice to force payment of existing debts. However, this measure is illegal. guarantees consumers a reliable supply of electricity.

The activities of SNT are regulated by Federal Law No. 66 of 04.15.1998. The law does not provide authority to turn off electricity for non-payment to SNT members of either the chairman or the board, even if the subscriber has a large debt.

A legal measure to recover funds from a debtor is to file a lawsuit on behalf of the SNT.   A citizen, a member of the SNT, who was illegally disconnected from the mains, may file a lawsuit in court. The defendant will be SNT as a legal entity.

See the video below for more details on country electricity:

Unlawful shutdown of electricity in the apartment

Unscrupulous homeowners associations and utilities sometimes also use power outages as a measure of impact on debtors.

In the event that a citizen has no debt to pay for electricity, the shutdown will be illegal.

The electricity supply company is responsible for the production, supply of electricity to the subscriber, ensuring its volume and quality.

Only she has the legal right to suspend or completely stop the supply of energy to the user. Cutting off energy from a consumer who is fully paying bills from energy sales, but having arrears in rents or other utilities, is illegal.

Can they turn off the lights for non-payment?

Between a company providing electricity and a subscriber a bilateral agreement is concluded. Based on the contract, the electricity supply company undertakes to supply energy through the connected network; It is the user's responsibility to timely pay for the services rendered at the approved tariff ().

If the consumer does not pay for the received energy, that is, does not fulfill contractual obligations, the energy supplier is forced to stop supplying electricity. For the legality of the procedure, the shutdown must be carried out in the strict manner prescribed by law.

What is the reason for disconnecting? The legal grounds for power outages for non-payment are:

What other penalties are provided for non-payment:

• fine - accrual of interest;
• relocation to a room with a smaller area (for housing exploiters under a social employment contract);
• litigation (for homeowners).

In what case will the de-energization of debts be illegal?

Failure to comply with the rules prescribed by law makes the shutdown procedure illegal.

The procedure for power outages for non-payment of utilities

Let us consider in more detail the rules for power outages for non-payment by both an individual and a legal entity.

Rules for blackouts for debts to individuals

Power outage procedure for non-payment to a legal entity

The procedure for disconnecting electricity to a legal entity for non-payment is much simpler. The energy supplying company can unilaterally stop the supply of electricity to the indebted subscriber by sending him a notice in advance.

How should they notify?

The list of options for transmitting warning notifications to the subscriber has expanded significantly. The main condition is confirmation of the fact and date of delivery:

• handing in person on hand;
• mailing in a registered letter;
• printing a notification message on a payment receipt form;
• recorded call by mobile or landline phone;
• email message
• notification in the virtual account of the user of the Internet portal of the housing and communal services;
• others.

Temporary and complete power outages for non-payment of utilities

Temporary power outage involves the suspension of services for a specified period.   Counters are sealed.

A complete shutdown provides for the unilateral termination of the contract by an energy marketing company, and accordingly, the complete termination of the provision of the service.

If there was no warning. If the consumer did not receive the notice, a power outage would be considered illegal. A citizen has the right to go to court and demand the cancellation of such a decision, moreover, compensation for moral damage.

What to do after being disconnected?   The easiest and most effective way: to pay off accumulated debt. 2 days after the payment of the debt, the contract between the subscriber and the company is restored, the service is delivered in full.

If a citizen is experiencing financial difficulties, he can contact the energy-supplying company and ask for a delay of payment for a period of 6 months.

The subscriber is issued a certificate of agreement. The certificate should be submitted to the managing organization (housing department, housing cooperative). During the day, a master electrician will come to you and restore the connection to the mains.

No one is immune from financial difficulties. In order to avoid the application of extreme measures in the form of a power outage, it is recommended to take measures in advance and apply for an installment plan. The law is very loyal to the consumer and offers various solutions to this situation.

If you are sure that the light was turned off illegally, feel free to contact the court and defend your interests.

A sudden blackout can only occur in emergency caseswhen the interruption of power supply is associated with natural elements, equipment breakdowns and other uncontrollable activities of organizations.

If shutdown occurs due to scheduled repairs or due to debts on utility bills, residents of a de-energized area or home should receive a warning.

Dear readers!   Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique.

If you want to know how to solve your problem - contact the online consultant form on the right or call free consultation:

The complaint is written to the address of the district court. In it, it is important to state the essence of the problem in a strictly business language and attach evidence confirming damage to electrical appliances. This can be confirmed by checks about the repair or the results of an independent examination.

The time for consideration of the submitted application is ten days from the date of receipt of the claim. After that, you will receive an answer about the proceedings that have begun and the date of the meeting.

Important!!! In their lawsuit, citizens can be guided by Decree No. 354 of May 6, 2011 on the "Rules for the provision of utility services in multi-apartment and residential buildings" and the Law of the Russian Federation of 07.02.1992 N 2300-1 (as amended on 13.07.2015)

Knowing your rights, you will be able to avoid many problems and quickly recover the damage. If you need to go to court, you should find a competent lawyer who can help gather the required package of documents and write a competent statement.