A resident of Dnipro is suing DTEK over a debt of 15,417 UAH. What was the outcome of the case?

The man is accused of illegally connecting a socket to the electrical network in violation of the accounting scheme. He refuses to pay DTEK a debt of 15,417 hryvnias, claiming that he did not commit any violations. This is stated in the decision of the Amur-Nizhndniprovsk District Court of Dnipropetrovsk (the legal name of the court), published on February 24, 2023.

On September 4, 2022, DTEK employees, during a scheduled inspection at the man's address, drew up a violation report, corresponding to clause 8.4.2 of the PRREE, regarding the illegal connection of a socket to the electrical network in violation of the accounting scheme. He was charged for unaccounted electricity – 15,417 hryvnias. According to the consumer, he did not commit any violations, as he asked a neighbor to connect to her electrical network to ensure the operation of a pump, due to power supply interruptions in his house, to which the neighbor agreed and plugged in an extension cord, and he, in turn, connected the pump. After the pump filled with water, the citizen disconnected from the network, but the extension cord remained.

DTEK did not acknowledge the claim and filed a counterclaim, arguing that due to the identified violations of the PRREE, the consumer was charged for unaccounted electricity in accordance with clause 8.4.13 of the Rules for a total of 15,417 hryvnias.

Case Review

During the court hearing, the participants acknowledged that the connection to the network occurred outside the metering device specified in the contract, using an extension cord (metal wires with a cross-section of 2*1.5 mm) through a neighboring house that was disconnected from the power supply (the meter was absent). Thus, the man used electricity that was not accounted for.

"The arguments of the plaintiff's representative that the plaintiff did not commit any violations since he did not connect to the supplier's network are rejected by the court, as the plaintiff in any case connected outside the metering devices defined in the contract, i.e., used unaccounted electricity. Moreover, the plaintiff connected to the energy networks through the neighbor's networks, who also made an unauthorized connection. Thus, the court is convinced that unaccounted consumption of electrical energy was indeed committed by the plaintiff. From the calculations made by the defendant based on the report from September 4, 2022, it follows that the billing period was taken from June 6, 2022, to the day the violation was identified on September 4, 2022, which is 90 days, in accordance with the requirements of clause 8.4.8 of the PRREE, as well as the calculation made according to formula 8 in accordance with clause 8.4.13 of the PRREE based on the initial data of a copper conductor with a cross-sectional area of 1.5 mm2 and a current strength of 23 A, and based on the established tariffs, totaling 15,417 hryvnias," - is stated in the case materials.

What Did the Court Decide?

The court denied the man's claim against the joint-stock company "DTEK Dniprovskie Electric Networks" to recognize the actions as unlawful and to cancel the decision. The counterclaim by the joint-stock company "DTEK Dniprovskie Electric Networks" against him for the recovery of the cost of unaccounted electricity based on the violation report was satisfied. The citizen will be ordered to pay 15,417 hryvnias to the joint-stock company "DTEK Dniprovskie Electric Networks."

"Considering the established circumstances, the court concludes that the defendant has proven the plaintiff's violation of the PRREE, the report was drawn up in accordance with the requirements of the PRREE in terms of form and content, and the correctness of the recorded scheme of unauthorized connection outside the commercial accounting means is confirmed, which became the basis for the investigation conducted in accordance with clause 8.4, justifying the decision of the meeting of the commission of the joint-stock company 'DTEK Dniprovskie Electric Networks' regarding the examination of the violation report dated September 4, 2022, formalized by protocol No. 70/22 dated September 13, 2022, about charging the citizen for the cost of unaccounted electricity amounting to 15,417 hryvnias," - emphasized the court.