Hotline of power engineering specialists:
IDGC of Centre continues regular work on collecting receivables and improving payment discipline of unscrupulous consumers and retail companies. One of its important components is claim-related activity. The company initiated hundreds of cases on debt collection under contracts for the provision of electricity transmission services. Collect from defaulters funds are directed primarily towards financing the core production activities, which is especially important due to the reduction in recent years of their investment sources.
IDGC of Centre uses all statutory methods to encourage debtors to fulfill their obligations. Starting from January 1, 2016, IDGC of Centre makes lawsuits against defaulters taking into account entered into force in December 2015 Federal Law № 307-FZ, aimed at "strengthening the payment discipline of consumers of energy resources". The document eliminates legislative gaps that allowed consumers to borrow in bad faith at the expense of grid companies, accumulating multi-million debts. Now, debtors - legal entities from the first day following the day of payment of the debt will have to pay a penalty equal to 1/130 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of Russia, which equals to a bank loan, taken at a rate of 23% per annum.
The changes, significantly toughening the penalties for non-metered and non-contractual consumption of energy resources, were introduced by the new law in the Code of Administrative Offences as well: penalties, provided for it by Article 7.19 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, will grow threefold.
Fines and penalties for late payment of utility services and energy resources are provided for all categories of payers. "Unswitched" consumers will be obliged to provide a guarantee of payment.
Please, be reminded that, following the results of November 2015 the receivables for services on transmission of electric energy in the whole of IDGC of Centre reached a critical level, amounting to 21.9 billion rubles, of which 18.8 billion rubles account for suppliers of last resort. Arrears amounted to 14.7 billion rubles, where 13.7 billion rubles - the debts of suppliers of last resort.
At the same time, IDGC of Centre, as a responsible service provider, informed debtors about the legislative innovations toughening their responsibility with due advance (corresponding letters were sent to each of them already at the end of November 2015), giving them thus the possibility to repay the debt at the end of 2015 without payment of fines and penalties. As noted in the company, such a move is a logical continuation of the policy of constructive dialogue which IDGC of Centre strives to consistently pursue with respect to any and all counterparties. This approach yields positive results: a significant portion of the debtors, including state-owned companies and private businesses, despite the difficult economic situation, are making every effort to fulfill contractual obligations in full. For example, the provider of last resort in the Belgorod region, OJSC "Belgorodenergosbyt" since the beginning of 2015 has reduced the level of outstanding debt to 226.5 million rubles, including disagreements were settled in the amount of 59.3 million rubles.
Unfortunately, not all contractors have such responsible attitude. This applies, in particular, to the largest debtor among the working electricity suppliers of last resort in regions of the service area of IDGC of Centre, JSC "Atomenergosbyt" (a subsidiary included in the State Corporation "Rosatom" CJSC "Concern Rosenergoatom"). Since spring 2014 the company has been acting as a supplier of last resort in the Kursk, Smolensk and Tver regions, and throughout this time it has overdue receivables steady growth. So on 01.01.2015 it amounted to 0.6 billion rubles, on 01.07.2015 - 0.9 billion rubles, and on 27.12.2015 - already 3 billion rubles. In view of the entry into force of the provisions of Federal Law № 307-FZ, the consequence of such a position will further increase the debt burden of JSC "Atomenergosbyt": the size of fines, calculated for the company in the period from 5 to 31 December 2015, already made about 38 million rubles.
IDGC of Centre intends to continue to consistently pursue non-payers to fulfill their contractual obligations in full and unconditionally, using all available legal instruments. At the same time, the company is still open to constructive dialogue regarding development of effective mechanisms for debt repayment in view of the current macroeconomic situation, and in some cases real financial capacity of its counterparties.