Hotline of power engineering specialists:
As at 01.07.2016, the value of outstanding receivables of the supplier of last resort of the Lipetsk region OJSC "Lipetsk Energy Retail Company" (LESK) amounted to 1.7 billion rubles, which corresponds to the non-payment of the Supplier of last resort of the Lipetsk region of the volume of Lipetskenergo’s electricity transmission services for 5 months.
The situation became critical in the preparation of Lipetskenergo’s electric grid facilities for the autumn-winter operation period of 2016-2017 and threatens reliable power supply to consumers and financial stability of Lipetskenergo. Timely receipt of money for electricity is a prerequisite for the effective development of the grid infrastructure of the Lipetsk region, and as a consequence - the economic and social well-being of the region.
In order to prevent the practice of non-payment by the supplier of last resort, the energy company uses all legitimate mechanisms for debt collection. Currently, in the courts of different instances under consideration there are 80 claims of IDGC of Centre to the company LESK. In accordance with entered into force in December 2015 Federal Law № 307-FZ, economic sanctions have been applied to the supplier of last resort. According to the legislative innovations from the first day of arrears legal entities must pay a penalty equal to 1/130 of the refinancing rate, which today is equivalent to taking a bank loan at 29% per annum. The total amount of fines assessed for 6 months of 2016 is 3.6 million rubles.
The consequences of such situations will burden end users. For the timely implementation of the core production activities the energy company will have to attract credit resources. The additional costs of the grid company will be included in the tariff regulation, which will lead to an unjustified increase in tariffs for consumers.