An uninterrupted supply of electricity is considered an important condition for creating prosperous living conditions. This is important for both residential buildings and industrial organizations.
The fact is that a power outage can cause serious losses for a business . That is why it is worth thinking about in which cases a shutdown is legal, planned, and in which it is not. If the situation is emergency, then you need to find out how long the power supply may be interrupted.
When will power outages become illegal?
Restriction or suspension of electricity supplies is carried out on the basis of Art. 546 Civil Code, Art. 38 Federal Law “On Electric Power Industry” and Section XI of the Rules approved by the RF Government No. 354 of 05/06/2011.
The energy supply contract is public; according to Article 540 of the Civil Code, it is valid from the date of actual connection to the power grid.
The absence of a written agreement between the supplier and the subscriber in accordance with Article 540 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is not a reason for turning off the power.
If the subscriber has legally connected to the networks and pays for energy supply on time, then the contract has been concluded from the moment of connection.
IMPORTANT: According to Art. 310 of the Civil Code, unilateral changes in the terms of the contract, refusal to fulfill obligations are illegal. Exceptions to this rule are established by the above laws and government regulations. All other cases of turning off electricity, except those given in the listed documents, are illegal.
Most often, electricity is turned off if it is necessary to eliminate or prevent an accident. Planned shutdowns for the purpose of prevention are carried out according to a schedule communicated to consumers in advance; it is legal to carry them out no more than three times a year, no more than for a day each time.
Emergency operations are automatically performed by emergency control devices. Private unscheduled outages on this basis indicate the unsatisfactory performance of the energy supply organization, the incompetence of its management and (or) specialists assigned to the house (neighborhood).
We talked about how to find out why there is no power, whether it is an emergency shutdown or a planned one, in a separate article.
In SNT
Turning off the power is a common measure of the impact of SNT boards on gardeners.
It is often used to force garden house owners to comply with the requirements of the governing bodies of the partnership and to speed up the collection of membership fees.
Such actions of the chairmen of the SNT in accordance with 66-FZ of April 15, 1998 are illegal, they can be considered a crime under Art. 330 of the Criminal Code (“Arbitrariness”), as well as to recover moral damages from the chairman, even if he justifies them by a decision of the board or meeting of the partnership.
In the apartment
ATTENTION! Utility workers often turn off electricity for non-payment of other utility bills and services, the supply of which is illegal or technically impossible to limit, even when the subscriber has paid for the supply of electricity itself. It is illegal.
In such cases, utility services have the right to demand payment of debt through the magistrate's court, then through bailiffs. And they have no right to turn off electricity for this reason.
The rules prohibit turning off electricity before holidays and weekends.
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.
What responsibilities are provided by law?
Frequent illegal switching off of electricity is considered a crime under Art. 330 of the Criminal Code (“Arbitrariness”). Civil liability in the form of compensation for material and (or) moral damage is provided for in accordance with Article 15 of the Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” (N 212-FZ of December 17, 1999, N 171-FZ of December 21, 2004). It is possible to achieve administrative liability of the supplier under Article 14.31 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, since it is a natural monopolist.
Who to call if the lights are turned off?
- Most cities have a hotline that you can call in case of interruptions in the supply of any utilities, including electricity.
You can easily find out her number at the help desk or at the reception desk of the local administration. - It is also necessary to write down in advance the number of the Emergency Dispatch Service of the Electric Network, the emergency dispatch service of the municipal district administration.
Many cities have a single dispatch service with a short, memorable number, for example, 005. - Information about planned outages is usually provided in advance on the website of the administration of the municipal district or city.
Emergency or planned
Emergency shutdown occurs due to technical reasons, as a result of emergency situations. In this case, the light will be turned off without warning. It is clear that a prolonged power outage can cause significant damage. That is why every consumer should take into account the following information:
- The reasons why the emergency occurred, as well as the nature of the breakdown.
- Time frame within which the power supply will be restored.
- What to do if the repair time exceeds the norm.
During emergency repair work, shutdowns occur due to emergency situations. If it is possible to connect reserve power, the supplier usually uses it. A planned shutdown occurs if the repair work was planned; in this case, the electricians work according to a pre-thought-out scenario.
It doesn’t matter whether the outage occurs in winter or summer, the organization must warn people about the outage in advance . Today, a variety of notification methods can be used:
- by calling a phone;
- letter by email;
- personally;
- through the media.
What to do if the light goes out very often?
If the shutdown is the result of an accident, a repair team is dispatched to the site. It usually takes several hours to eliminate the causes of the accident. If such emergencies occur frequently, this is a reason for a complaint.
Typically, energy supply contracts provide for the norm of planned shutdowns of energy supplies no more than three times a year, no longer than a day in a row each.
If shutdown occurs more often, the following consumer actions are advisable:
- write a statement in duplicate about power outages to the energy company that services your home.
- The application is accepted by the secretary, who stamps and signs with the date of receipt on his and your copy of the incoming document.
- Go to the customer service department of the energy company, tell the employees about the problem verbally, and ask when it will be fixed. According to the rules, it must be eliminated within 24 hours. The exception is restoration work after destruction caused by a natural disaster or other force majeure.
- If after your request the outages continue, this is a reason to go to court.
Official dates
It is important to consider how many constantly switched on consumers use electricity. According to the law, energy consumers are divided into three categories.
Depending on this, the periods for which the shutdown can be carried out are determined. So, if the consumer belongs to categories 1 or 2, then the shutdown period will depend on the conditions specified in the contract, the features of the electricity scheme, the availability of additional power sources, if it is turned off by law .
The standards say that consumers belonging to reliability category 3 cannot remain without power supply for longer than a certain period. The maximum time for which the lights can be turned off is 72 hours per year, and consumers cannot be left without electricity for more than 24 hours at a time. The exception is situations when an emergency shutdown occurs or repair work is carried out.
Category 3 is the majority of consumers, in particular apartment buildings and the private sector . For how long they can be turned off, the reasons for the lack of light can be found out from the manager, they should know about possible problems and accidents. Please note that the length of time the lights may be turned off does not vary depending on the time of year.
How to record a violation?
First of all, you need to collect the signatures of your neighbors as witnesses to the shutdown, even if it only happened in your apartment (house).
Then you need to call representatives of the energy company that supplies you with services and achieve the creation of a special commission that will record the violation by drawing up an act.
The commission must include a representative of the energy supply organization and (or) management company.
A member of the SNT has the right to call the local police officer and register a complaint at the police station.
How to deal with frequent power outages online via the Internet?
- As a rule, the websites of municipal administrations are interactive, where you can write a statement outlining your problems and wait for a response.
- Register on the federal government services website and file a complaint in the appropriate window on this site. Registration rules are given on the website. They require a personal appearance at one of the local institutions for identification.
- If the previous appeal did not have any effect, you should contact the website of the regional prosecutor's office with a complaint in any form.
Finding out the address is easy: write in Yandex Search: website of the prosecutor's office of the N region (republic, territory, district). Your complaint will be considered if it does not violate the rules given on this site. If you have not previously contacted the authority to which the energy supply organization is subordinate, your application will be forwarded to this authority for action.
How to write a paper complaint?
In the header you indicate your full name, contact details of the registration address and actual and other contact details.
The application is written to the prosecutor of your city (district).
In the title you write: complaint about violation of the Rules for the provision of utility services.
Describe the situation in any form.
What documents should I attach to the complaint?
Attach to the application the text of the complaint with the collected signatures of the neighbors and (or) the Act of Violations with the signatures of the commission members (if any). Leave the originals for the court.
Sample complaint to the prosecutor's office about a power outage.
What are the paper feeding methods?
You send a paper application to the prosecutor's office in a simple letter, which you drop in the mailbox.
It is sent to other authorities by registered mail with notification or brought in person and handed over to the secretary of the institution against signature.
Institutions for receiving complaints
- Energy supply company.
- The higher-level organization of the energy company (founder).
- City (district) administration.
- City (district) prosecutor's office.
- World Court, your territorial area.
On our website you can find out how to draw up a notice and an act on turning off electricity for debts, what to do if the lights are turned off on this basis, as well as what fines are provided for unauthorized connection to the power grid.
Accident elimination standard
No more than 24 hours should pass before the lights are turned back on .
You also need to remember about the annual limit; it should not exceed 72 hours. It is very rare that there are situations where longer delays occur; they depend on the extent of the damage. But even in such situations, repair work must be carried out within a reasonable time. Otherwise, the supplier will bear administrative or criminal liability.
If the organization violates all deadlines and does not fulfill all of its obligations that are specified in the agreement, then the residents have every right to defend themselves. To find out the specifics of the situation, the reasons for the breakdown, or interruption of power supply, you can contact the HOA, as well as directly to the supplier.
ATTENTION! If necessary, you can call the dispatcher and tell about the violation and write a corresponding complaint. Even if the claims are ignored or remain unattended, then you need to go to court.
Please note that the statement of claim must contain all the necessary data:
- the name of the organization that supplies energy;
- date of suspension of filing;
- the exact date of the emergency;
- acts, inspections available on hand;
- state of energy supply;
- witness evidence;
- written refusals from officials.
The reply is in process
The energy supply must be restored by the supplier two days after the debt has been fully repaid and (or) other causes that led to the outage have been eliminated.
In practice, this procedure takes from three days to a week in different regions.
Where payment is made according to the average, and not according to meter data, it begins from the moment of presentation of documents on debt repayment, and not from the actual connection. It is useless to argue with the state on this issue.
The government agencies you contact are required to give you a written response within a month. When applying via the Internet, the response will be given electronically.
