Legal Representation in Disputes in the Energy Sector

Legal support of disputes in the energy sector, including representation in various instances

Disputes related to energy supply arise between energy supply organizations and subscribers quite often, as a rule, these are disputes related to inflated charges for the use of energy, late payment by the subscriber for the supplied energy, illegal disconnection of energy, refusal to connect to the power grid, use of energy without metering devices, etc.

Without special knowledge in the energy sector, it is quite difficult to challenge this or that issue in the FAS Russia or in the courts, in connection with which, as a rule, experienced and qualified lawyers and specialists in this field are involved in resolving conflict situations with energy supply organizations.

Meanwhile, in accordance with Article 547 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in cases of failure to fulfill or improper fulfillment of obligations under the energy supply agreement, the party that violated the obligation is obliged to compensate for the actual damage caused by this. In this case, if as a result of regulating the energy consumption regime, carried out on the basis of the law or other legal acts, there is an interruption in the supply of energy to the subscriber, the energy supplying organization is liable for failure to fulfill or improper fulfillment of contractual obligations if there is fault on its part.

Legal cases with energy supplying organizations

Arising disputable situations with energy supplying organizations in the event of the impossibility of resolving them directly with the energy supplier are resolved in court. It is important to note that legal cases with energy supplying organizations can be considered both in relation to the energy supplying organizations themselves in the context of their failure to fulfill their obligations, recovery of damages, and in relation directly to subscribers who violate the terms of the concluded contract for energy supply, including illegally using energy, for example, bypassing metering devices.

Going to court allows you to resolve a controversial situation, recover damages, determine an illegally established tariff, etc. A fairly wide range of issues in interaction with the energy supplying organization can be resolved in court. Having experience and knowledge in the energy sector, as well as engaging qualified lawyers, allows you to resolve legal disputes with energy supply organizations on terms that are most favorable for energy consumers, recover damages caused by energy supply organizations, change illegally established tariffs, recalculate inflated payments, etc.

Recovery of damages related to the supply of electricity, heat energy, quantity (power)

The supply of energy must meet the requirements established by law, like any product or service, but in practice there are cases when the quality of the supplied energy does not meet the requirements established by law and the contract, which can lead to unexpected losses for consumers, including those associated with illegal disconnection of energy.

Considering that the party that violated the obligation is obliged to compensate for the actual damage caused by this, legal disputes in this area are considered quite often. At the same time, it is important to note that in the event of a violation by the energy supply organization of the requirements for the quality of energy, the subscriber has the right to refuse to pay for such energy. In this case, the energy supply organization has the right to demand compensation from the subscriber for the cost of what the subscriber has unjustifiably saved as a result of using this energy.

Russian civil law establishes that damages are understood to mean expenses that a person whose right has been violated has made or will have to make to restore the violated right, the loss of or damage to his property (actual damage), as well as lost income that this person would have received under normal conditions of civil turnover if his right had not been violated (lost profits). In addition, if the person who violated the right received income as a result, the person whose right has been violated has the right to demand compensation, along with other losses, for lost profits in an amount no less than such income.

Challenging illegally established tariffs, standards for the consumption of electric and thermal energy

For interaction between the energy supply organization and the subscriber, a supply agreement is concluded, which, in addition to the main subject of the agreement, provides for the tariffs at which the subscriber will pay for the energy received, energy consumption standards and other significant issues. However, in practice, interaction with energy supply organizations reveals cases when tariffs and energy consumption standards for subscribers are illegally established, in which case it is important to correctly formulate an appeal to the energy supply organization, to the regulatory or judicial authorities to resolve the dispute.

Challenging illegally established tariffs for energy resources begins with determining the legality of the decision of the Regional Tariff Service to approve or change the tariff, due to the fact that such a document is a regulatory legal act that is subject to challenge in a court of general jurisdiction in the order of administrative proceedings. It is important to note that in the event that a tariff is recognized as illegal, a number of factors take place:

1. disputes about payment for energy (services for its transmission) for the period preceding the entry into force of a court decision by which the tariff is recognized as invalid are subject to consideration based on the replacement tariff, and in its absence - based on the price determined in court;
2. if the tariff was cancelled due to its inflated nature, then energy consumers (customers of energy transmission services) have the right to recover the overpayment from the supplier (contractor);
3. if the tariff is cancelled due to its establishment at a level below the economically justified level, the supplier has no right to demand additional payment from the consumer; compensation for the supplier's property losses is ensured in subsequent periods by corrective measures of tariff regulation.

Despite the dominant position of energy supplying organizations in the energy market, the legislator, judicial and regulatory authorities allow control over the activities of energy supplying organizations, preventing them from uncontrollably increasing tariffs, illegally charging for energy, refusing to connect to networks, etc.

Legal services

1. Consulting on representation in dispute resolution in the electric power industry
2. Support for the conclusion of an energy supply agreement in order to eliminate adverse consequences for the consumer, to eliminate illegal conditions in the text of the energy supply agreement
3. Preparation of necessary documents for dispute resolution in the energy sector, including appeals, complaints to the FAS Russia, applications to the court
4. Representation of clients in interactions with resource suppliers in the energy sector, as well as in regulatory authorities and in courts