Due to the protracted financial crisis in Russia and the constant increase in tariffs for new electricity connections, as well as for the connection of additional power, cases of unauthorized connection to a source of electricity supply and illegal consumption of energy resources have become more frequent throughout the country. In Ukraine, cases of unauthorized accession have increased to 40%, despite the fact that almost every violator is fined by the state.
Based on the fact of an unlawful act, the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation established a fine for unauthorized connection to the electrical network.
Electricity meter
Important! The concept of illegal electricity connection: interference by individuals or organizations in the main electrical networks with further connection of contacts and ensuring the consumption of electricity without the appropriate approval of the organizations operating them is recognized as illegal, as well as all actions related to deliberate savings of funds bypassing the current tariffs for both connection and connection. and for the operation of electricity. Illegal electricity connections are classified according to the following parameters:
- Insertion into existing backbone networks without paying for capacity, fulfilling technical conditions and approvals from the network organization to provide electricity to your apartment, private house, cottage, garage, etc., which requires immediate disconnection immediately after detection.
- The subscriber attempts to voluntarily reconnect himself to the networks after being disconnected for non-payment or for some other objective reasons.
- Using electricity by bypassing the meter with subsequent non-payment for consumed kW.
- Using a damaged meter is the same as deliberately concealing the fact of a breakdown from repair services.
- Unauthorized breaking of the seal on an electricity meter for further interference with the structure of its operation.
- Deliberate damage to an electricity meter for personal gain.
Technically, unauthorized connection is quite simple if you have special skills and knowledge, and in almost every village there is a specialist who can do this, which is what local residents take advantage of. However, anyone who performs such acts or turns to specialists to receive such services should remember that the Russian Federation has introduced a severe fine for unauthorized connection of electrical energy. Also, if a violation is detected, the subscriber will have to pay a fine for non-payment of electricity. And if both violations are detected, the resident will in any case be fined for unauthorized connection to the electrical network.
Which connection is illegal?
The provision of utility services to owners of residential premises is regulated by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 2011 No. 354. Subclause. “e” of paragraph 35 of section V of the Decree prohibits
unauthorized connection of consumer equipment to in-house engineering systems or to centralized networks.
Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 2011 No. 354
This means that to connect to the power grid, you need the approval of the organization responsible for its operation. There are no known cases in history when power engineers allowed an apartment owner to carry out life-threatening work. Their implementation is regulated by a number of rules, and they must be carried out by qualified personnel authorized to work on electrical installations.
This means that any connection made by an unauthorized employee is unauthorized, that is, unauthorized and illegal.
Can they go to jail?
But the responsibility of the violator of the law does not only appear in the form of fines; sometimes the magistrate decides to position an illegal connection to the highway as theft, and under this article it is quite possible to receive a prison term of up to 2 years.
If the court chose penalties as a punishment, in addition, the owner of the property is obliged to pay the debt that arose after the discovery of the offense, and the round-the-clock light consumption is recorded in the calculation. If there is no agreement at all, in 2016 liability for such an act is described by the amount for the use of light over the past 3 years, even if the illegal connection in reality was made only a couple of months ago.
Thus, whatever one may say, it turns out that obtaining light legally is much more profitable than illegally.
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How illegal connections are detected
Employees of the electricity supplier, in full compliance with the law, carry out periodic inspections of the serviced networks, including in order to identify cases of violation of the law.
Subparagraph “e” of paragraph 34 of the said Resolution obliges the consumer
allow the contractor into the occupied residential premises or household to take readings of individual, common (apartment), room meters and distributors, check their condition, the fact of their presence or absence, as well as the reliability of the information transmitted by the consumer to the contractor
Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 2011 No. 354
In accordance with the above provisions of the law, consumers are required to provide the supplier with evidence of the legality of using electricity.
Responsibility for unauthorized connection to electrical networks
Unauthorized connection to power grids is one of the main problems of network management organizations. Many residents of Russia do not have the opportunity to supply electricity to their home or other building and pay for the services provided. The reasons for this are completely different, including the lack of funds. Defaulters remain without electricity in their homes, because it is turned off for them, but within a few days they are connected to the power grid without permission, for which they are subsequently responsible. The result of all illegal connections is usually a criminal case.
Based on Article 7.19 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (Code of Administrative Responsibility), in case of illegal connection to power grids, the offender is subject to an administrative fine.
There is also liability under Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for causing property damage to an energy retailer or other network organization (owner) through abuse of trust or deception. The maximum penalty is imprisonment with a fine . In judicial practice, in case of such crimes, the offender gets by with suspended sentences of up to 5 years.
Officials who use the property (electricity) of an organization for their own purposes, as a rule, are suspended from office for a period of up to two years based on a decision of an authorized judge.
Fines system
Penalty for unauthorized connection of electricity after disconnection from the electrical network and non-contractual consumption of energy resources in accordance with Art. 7.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation is:
- for legal entities from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles;
- for officials from 30,000 to 80,000 rubles;
- for citizens from 10,000 to 15,000 rubles.
In the event of a court decision on imprisonment, compensation for harm and the imposition of a fine for theft of the owner’s property (in this case, theft of electricity), according to Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the fine is usually 80,000 rubles.
Legal power outage
Subparagraph “and” of paragraph 34 of Section V of the same Resolution No. 354 is obligatory on the consumer
Pay utility bills on time and in full.
Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 2011 No. 354
Failure by the consumer to fulfill contractual obligations gives the supplier grounds to terminate the supply of electricity. The period of non-payment during which disconnection is not carried out is determined by the contract. Subparagraph “b” of paragraph 2 of the “Rules for complete and (or) partial limitation of the mode of consumption of electrical energy” defines this period as two billing periods.
After the specified period, the supplier notifies the consumer in writing about the upcoming disconnection. This gives the defaulter another 10 days to settle.
If even then mutual understanding is not reached between the parties, the supplier has the right to turn off the electricity. In this case, an act is drawn up recording the fact of power outage, the date, time of the outage and its reasons.
Legislation on unauthorized connection
Anyone can be tempted to use household goods without paying for them. Utility tariffs are now very high; in order to pay for them, families need to allocate a significant portion of their income to utilities.
But when signing an agreement for the supply of electricity, heat, water, gas, the consumer assumes obligations for timely and full payment.
If he violates such obligations, the housing may be cut off from supplies for non-payment.
Some are looking for opportunities to pay off debts, while others take risks and make an illegal connection. Before deciding to take unauthorized actions, it is worth reading some articles of the law collections; this will become an effective warning:
- Article 7.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation defines punishment for the unauthorized use of such valuable resources as electricity, thermal energy, oil, and gas.
- Also, in 2012, Government Regulation No. 442 was issued on the functioning of the electricity market. It specifies how the resource can be used, and the contractual terms between the supplier and the consumer.
- According to the law, you cannot connect to the network without permission and use electricity without accounting. If the metering devices have malfunctioned and do not give accurate readings, you need to immediately notify the relevant service and replace the meter. During the inspection, various violations may be identified, for which punishment will follow.
- Broken meter seal.
- Damage to visual inspection signs installed by representatives of Energosbyt on the metering device.
- Illegal connection after disconnection for non-payment or other reason.
What is the procedure for turning off electricity for non-payment in 2020?
Many people (especially unscrupulous utility payers) are interested in what is the procedure for cutting off electricity in compliance with the law in 2020. Can they be left without electricity without warning in advance? What are the grounds for turning off electricity if minor children live in the house? To answer all these questions, it is necessary to refer to the law governing the relationship between the apartment owner and service providers, which in our case will be housing and communal services, a management company, a housing association, energy sales, etc.
In 2020, not a single person can imagine life without electricity. What can we say about large and small enterprises where all work will stop without electricity supply. And if an ordinary person may simply be inconvenient, then organizations will suffer a major loss. That is why the law establishes rules for informing consumers and determines the procedure for turning off the lights, violation of which is not permissible. According to the Civil Code, turning off electricity, even for non-payment, is impossible if an accident may occur as a result. The consumer must be previously acquainted with the intentions of the energy sales staff. Notification occurs by means of a written notification (for which you need to sign) or by registered mail (via mail with a return receipt). Other methods will be considered invalid according to the 2020 law.
What to do if the electricity is turned off due to debt
First, you must find out on what basis the lights were turned off and whether the electricians even had the right to touch your meter. Of course, if you did not receive a written notice in your hands, this indicates that the shutdown occurred without warning. In this case, you need to complain to the above authorities. You can also say that the illegal disconnection of power to the apartment caused you a number of problems, namely:
- Have you turned off the electricity in your apartment and want to turn it back on? If the apartment building is a panel building, then you probably know that between adjoining apartments the sockets are installed opposite each other in the void. You can remove your socket and agree with your neighbor to make a jumper, thanks to which you will also have light. Of course, this is not legal and you will have to thank your neighbor, and when the problems with non-payment are resolved and the electrician comes to connect your apartment, do not forget to remove the jumper!
- The legal way is, again, to negotiate with your neighbor so that while the electricity is turned off, you can plug an extension cord into his outlet and extend it into your apartment. This way, you can connect lamps and not too powerful household appliances.
- If your electricity has been turned off for non-payment in a private home or country house, a mobile power station can help out. It is not very expensive and can also save you if the electricity is cut off during repair work. We talked about how to connect a generator to the network at home yourself in the corresponding article!
- Also in your apartment, by analogy with carrying, you can connect an extension cord from your neighbor’s outlet, at the other end of which there will be not a block of sockets, but another plug. Before doing this, we still recommend consulting with an electrician to see if this can be done in your case, whether the wiring will withstand, etc.
- Connecting solar panels can also solve the problem. If you have installed alternative sources of electricity at your dacha, do not forget that they will work even if the power is turned off for non-payment.
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