DTEK is suing the residents of a building over a debt of 51,887 hryvnias - what was the outcome of the case?

Employees of DTEK discovered violations in a house where a father and his daughter reside. They were charged an amount of unaccounted electricity totaling 51,887 hryvnias, which they refuse to pay. This is stated in the decision of the Industrial District Court of Dnipro, published on February 3, 2025.

On February 4, 2019, DTEK representatives at the address found violations, namely: "unauthorized connection of electrical installations (current receivers or wiring) to the electrical network, not owned by the energy supplier, with a violation of the accounting scheme." Photo evidence of the violation was taken. Based on the violation act dated 04.02.2019, the amount of unaccounted electricity was charged at 51,887 hryvnias for the period from 06.02.2016 to 04.02.2019. The debt for electricity that was not accounted for by the meter remains unpaid.

On April 7, 2021, the man filed a court response to the claim and a counterclaim against the joint-stock company "DTEK Donetsk Electric Networks," asking to recognize as illegal and annul the decision of the Kramatorsk district electric networks commission of the joint-stock company "DTEK Donetsk Electric Networks" regarding the consideration of violation acts under the PRREE for the population, as stated in protocol No. 507 dated 11.03.2019, concerning the calculation of the volume and cost of uncharged electricity for the period from 06.02.2016 to 04.02.2019, according to clauses 3.1, 3.3, 3.5 of the Methodology, totaling 51,887 hryvnias.

The counterclaim is justified by the fact that his daughter owns the house at the address based on a gift agreement dated January 29, 2018, where he has been registered and residing since 1998. On February 4, 2019, DTEK employees drew up a violation act. Subsequently, they charged for unaccounted electricity at 51,887 hryvnias. He believes that the company incorrectly held him accountable, and the commission's decision reflected in the protocol dated 11.03.2019 is illegal. As the owner of the dwelling, she is the sole consumer of DTEK's services, while he is a household consumer. At the time of the violation detection on February 4, 2019, the legislation did not establish a form for the violation act under the PRREE, and such a form was approved only on July 27, 2019, by the NKREKU Resolution dated July 18, 2019, No. 1525.

Moreover, the violation act was examined by the commission in Kramatorsk RES of JSC "DTEK Donetsk Electric Networks," although the correct name of the legal entity is JSC "DTEK Donetsk Electric Networks." Thus, the commission's meeting protocol dated 11.03.2019 is deemed to be drawn up by an unauthorized person. Additionally, the commission applied an outdated methodology for calculating the cost of unaccounted energy, which was used exclusively for identifying violations of the Electricity Use Rules for the population No. 1357, which were not in effect at the time of the violation detection. The new calculation rules were approved only on July 18, 2019, by amendments to the PRREE.

According to the violation act, the Kramatorsk RES employees did not actually find any places of unauthorized connection, meaning the marked location in the scheme of unauthorized connection is merely a presumption. Furthermore, the calculation of the cost of unaccounted electricity was made in violation of the PRREE. Since the RES employees did not seize a wire (cable) sample, the commission mistakenly calculated the volume of electricity based on assumptions, considering the cross-sectional area of the wire used in the unauthorized connection scheme to be 2.5 sq. mm.

What did the court decide?

The court granted DTEK's claim. The man will have to repay the debt for unaccounted electricity for the period from February 6, 2016, to January 28, 2018, amounting to 34,259 hryvnias. Also, he and his daughter will be jointly liable to repay the debt to the joint-stock company "DTEK Donetsk Electric Networks" for unaccounted electricity for the period from January 29, 2018, to February 4, 2019, totaling 17,627 hryvnias. The court rejected the counterclaims against the joint-stock company "DTEK Donetsk Electric Networks" regarding the recognition of the commission's decision as illegal.

"The court believes that the violation act dated 04.02.2019 was prepared by authorized persons in accordance with the procedure established by the PRREE, which is also confirmed by the decision of the Donetsk Appeal Court dated February 25, 2020, in case No. 234/4652/19, which has come into legal force. The plaintiff lawfully compiled the protocol from the violation act dated 11.03.2019 and calculated the damages in accordance with the provisions of the PRREE and the Methodology. Voluntary payment for damages for unaccounted electricity due to violations of the electricity use rules by consumers for the period from 06.02.2016 to 04.02.2019 (1,095 days) in the amount of 51,887 hryvnias has not been made to this day. At the same time, as established by the court, the defendant was registered in the house since December 11, 1998, and on January 26, 2018, acquired ownership of this building by inheritance according to the law. However, the defendant was registered in the house only from February 28, 2001, to July 18, 2016, which does not fall within the period of damage calculation, and acquired ownership of the house only on January 29, 2018. Under these circumstances, evaluating all the evidence in their entirety and interrelation, the court concludes that the damages charged by the plaintiff for the period from February 6, 2016, to January 28, 2018 (723 days) in the amount of 34,259 hryvnias, are to be recovered from the man, while for the period from January 29, 2018, to February 4, 2019 (372 days) in the amount of 17,627 hryvnias - jointly from both of them," the court emphasized.