A Kyiv resident refuses to pay a debt of 27,234 UAH to DTEK, claiming he did not live in the apartment. The court's decision on this matter is pending.

Employees of DTEK discovered violations at the man's address and recalculated the cost of unaccounted electricity amounting to 27,234 hryvnias. He refuses to pay the debt to the company, claiming that he never lived at the specified residence. This is stated in the decision of the Solomiansky District Court of Kyiv, published on January 9, 2025.

On April 17, 2023, authorized representatives of DTEK Kyiv Electric Networks identified violations—unauthorized connection of power receivers and wiring to an electric network not owned by the distribution system operator (DSO) in violation of the accounting scheme. The unauthorized connection was made with a PV wire 1x4mm2 from the input circuit breaker to the apartment. According to the calculation, the cost of electricity that was unaccounted for due to the consumer's violation, as per the act dated April 17, 2023, No. 003215, amounted to 27,234 hryvnias.

The man stated that he had never been registered or lived in the specified apartment, did not use it, and therefore could not have unlawfully accessed the electrical networks. Since 2019, two people and their son have actually been living in the specified apartment. The previous owner and residents used the apartment and continued to do so, while he did not conclude contracts with the relevant enterprises providing utility services upon acquiring ownership of the apartment, due to a lack of need, as he did not intend to live in the apartment or use utility services. The transfer of ownership of the apartment occurred solely to avoid increasing the debt under the loan agreement, while the debtor's family continued to use the property as previously listed and accordingly assumed the obligation to pay for housing and communal services. The citizen believes that the claims are essentially based on the fact of violation by the actual residents of the apartment, who made unauthorized connections to the power supply networks, and under these circumstances, he had neither motive nor opportunity to commit the corresponding violation (to connect to the power supply networks unlawfully), hence he is an improper defendant in the case.

What did the court decide?

The court granted the claim. The man is ordered to pay 27,234 hryvnias in debt for unaccounted electricity to the private joint-stock company “DTEK Kyiv Electric Networks.”

"The materials of the case establish the violation and the amount claimed for recovery, which has not been refuted by the defendant, nor has it been confirmed that the defendant's debt for unaccounted electricity in the amount of 27,234 hryvnias has been settled (either fully or partially). Regarding the defendant's arguments that the actual consumers of electricity and proper defendants in the case are individuals registered at the corresponding address, the court notes that the case materials do not contain evidence of a contract between such individuals and the electricity supplier, nor a contract with the apartment owner stipulating that they assume the obligation to pay utility bills," the court emphasized.