R. Pocius: suppliers could not require the consumer to justify the terminated contracts

According to him, the European Commission (EC) declared last year that the related European directive on national laws in 2021 was moved in such a way that the electricity supplier cannot demand any payment from the customer upon termination of the contract.

The EC has concluded that, as the directive in the Electricity Act has been transposed, suppliers are not allowed to apply absolutely no fee (after termination of contracts with consumers V). The directive provided for an example that such taxes could be considered as additional taxes, but it was simply not transposed by our parliament, said R. Pocius.

Since we have consulted and received the opinion of the EC, we are quite calm, because who can explain the provisions of the directive better than the EC, he added.

This is what the chairman of VERT said after the electricity supply company Enefit announced on Tuesday that it will appeal to the court regarding the market regulator’s call to electricity suppliers to ground from 2021. In July, the resident paid a lot of fees, fees for changing or terminating the contract.

According to R. Pociaus, at the moment VERT is determining what amounts the suppliers should charge to the consumers, the inspection is intended to be completed by August: If the suppliers do not collect the money, they will be obliged to do so.

Manage risks with higher fixed prices

While some independent electricity suppliers claim that the ban on provision of termination fees or non-payments in contracts prevents them from insuring themselves against future risks, the chairman of VERT says that suppliers can transfer the risks to larger electricity supply plagues.

On the one hand, if you want to conclude long-term (electricity procurement V) contracts, you must have such a thing as insurance. But on the other hand, this question can be solved through another algorithm to assess insurance risks in a larger scale. If you know that the user may leave you, you will take a higher risk and pay a higher price to the user, said R. Pocius.

However, the chairman of VERT added that the legal acts adopted by the parliament limit the opportunities for new independent electricity suppliers to enter the Lithuanian market.

Last April, amendments adopted by the Seimas from last year prohibit electricity suppliers from providing termination fees, supplier change fees or penalties in contracts with household consumers, small and very small companies.

However, some consumer protection lawyers claim that it is possible for consumer groups to terminate contracts without compensation as early as 2021. Amendments to the Construction of Electric Energy were adopted.

Due to the disputes between the independent supplier and the consumer due to the termination of the contract due to the fine, at the end of February, the volunteers of the industry will be based in VERT from 2021. Between mid-July and last year, the residents of Bireli and the majority of the population paid unemployment benefits.

It was previously announced that more than 2,000 household consumers and at least 200 small and very small companies will face this problem if the suppliers insist on disconnection from the customer.

Elektrum Lietuva and Enefit demanded the non-payment, because of which the electricity suppliers and some of their customers are litigating in the courts.

Ignitis and Elektrum Lietuva have already removed the provisions previously established in the contracts due to the right to terminate them at once or to change them. The new contracts do not provide for the obligation to justify fees, discounts, to pay penalties when the user terminates the agreed earlier term.

Enefit announces an agreement that the termination fee will no longer be applied to household consumers since April last year, but to small and very small companies from April.

At that time, monita assures that it has never applied a restriction to short-term household consumer contracts.

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