DTEK issued a debt of 55,767 hryvnias, but the resident of Odessa has no means to pay. Here's the court's decision on the matter.

Employees of DTEK discovered a violation at the man's address, which involved the unauthorized connection of wiring to the electrical network. He is being asked to pay an amount of 55,767 hryvnias for the unaccounted electricity, but he refuses due to a lack of funds. This is stated in the decision of the Kyiv District Court of Odesa, published on September 19, 2024.

On December 12, 2023, representatives of JSC "DTEK Odesa Electricity Networks" identified violations of the electricity consumption rules at the man's address during an inspection. Specifically, they found an unauthorized connection of electrical wiring to the OSR electrical network, which violated the accounting scheme. An act of violation was drawn up in the presence of the consumer. On January 16, 2024, the commission reviewed the act and decided to charge for six calendar months from June 12, 2023, to the day the violation was detected on December 12, 2023, based on the smallest cross-sectional area of the wire (cable) involved in the unauthorized connection scheme, which was copper 2*2.5 mm², with a permissible continuous current of 25A according to section 1.3 of the PUE. The operating time of the current receivers was set at 8 hours per day, based on the tariffs and prices in effect during the calculation period. The volume of unaccounted electricity amounted to 7,248 kWh, totaling 55,767 hryvnias. The citizen acknowledged the claims but stated that he could not settle the debt due to his difficult financial situation.

What did the court decide?

The court granted the claim. The man is ordered to pay JSC "DTEK Odesa Electricity Networks" the cost of the unaccounted electricity amounting to 55,767 hryvnias.

"According to paragraph 8.2.7 of the Rules, funds for unaccounted electricity and amounts for damages must be transferred by the consumer to the operator's current account. The consumer must pay the invoices for unaccounted electricity within 30 calendar days from the date of receiving the bill (if the consumer does not receive the bill at the post office within 5 working days from the date the bill was sent to the consumer's post office, the bill is considered received by the consumer on the 5th working day). In case the consumer disagrees with the fact of unaccounted electricity consumption and refuses to pay for the unaccounted electricity, the system operator may file a lawsuit to confirm the fact of unaccounted electricity consumption and to recover the cost of the unaccounted electricity," the court emphasized.