DTEK accused a man of failing to pay a debt of 35,402 hryvnias, but he claims it was due to an emergency situation - a decision made by the court.

DTEK employees at the site recorded violations, specifically the absence of seals on the meter. The owner is required to pay off a debt of 35,402 hryvnias, but he claims that an emergency situation occurred, necessitating the removal of the seal from the device. This is stated in the decision of the Dnipro District Court of Kyiv, published on November 7, 2022.

On November 6, 2020, at a site owned by a man, in the presence of his authorized representative - the director of a beauty salon - and representatives of DTEK, a violation of clause 2 of paragraph 8.4.2 of the Rules was identified, specifically: the absence of seals with the impressions of the stamp of DTEK Kyiv Electric Networks, for which a violation report was drawn up. On January 4, 2021, a commission reviewing the violation reports made a decision to calculate the volume and cost of electricity that was not accounted for due to the citizen's violation of the rules for the period from May 21, 2020, to November 6, 2020. According to the commission's calculations, the total amount of debt for the defendant is 35,402 hryvnias. Since he failed to fulfill his obligation to timely pay for the unaccounted electricity in the amount of 35,402 hryvnias from February 21, 2019, to June 30, 2021, 3% annual interest of 378 hryvnias and an inflation component of the debt amounting to 1,325 hryvnias were also charged.

The man submitted a response to the lawsuit in court. On October 31, 2019, a donation agreement was concluded between him and another person, according to which the donor gifted a food store located in the arch between sections A and B. Subsequently, a lease agreement for non-residential premises No. 163a was signed for use as a salon. Additionally, on January 11, 2021, he received a summons to the commission meeting regarding the violation report; however, on December 24, 2020, he sent a letter to DTEK stating his inability to attend the meeting due to poor health, advanced age, and geographical distance. He requested that the circumstances recorded in report No. 03787 dated November 6, 2020, be considered unrelated to the unaccounted use of electricity, as they were caused by an emergency situation, namely the burning of contacts of circuit breaker ABV No. 633A, for which employees of GP "Zhilservice" were called to remove the seal from the device. In turn, DTEK, without understanding the situation, did not take into account the actual absence of unaccounted electricity use and the lack of dishonesty on the part of the electricity consumer, and failed to recognize the lack of economic activity during the quarantine restrictions, thus making an illegal decision regarding the violation report No. 0378 dated November 6, 2020.

What did the court decide?

The court denied the claim. DTEK's demands for the recovery of the debt from the man are unfounded.

"The plaintiff, the Private Joint Stock Company 'DTEK Kyiv Electric Networks,' filed a lawsuit against an improper defendant to recover the debt according to the violation report on electricity accounting, since from the moment the donation agreement for the food store was signed, the citizen lost his rights and obligations as an electricity consumer. Therefore, as the former owner of the food store, he should not be liable under the filed lawsuit, given that the dispute over the violation of electricity accounting should be considered a dispute arising between the owner of the real estate and the electricity supplier," the court emphasized.