Today, issues related to energy supply are regulated by several legislative acts at the federal level. In particular, the regulations provide for a procedure for restricting delivery. Let's consider it in more detail below.
Regulatory framework
First of all, the provisions of Chapter VI of the Civil Code apply in this area. In them, the supply of electricity is considered as one of the types of purchase and sale transactions. The next law is the Federal Law "On the electric power industry". This regulation deals specifically with the issue of power outages. In particular, this is stated in Art. 38. In accordance with the provisions, the Government of the Russian Federation approves the procedure according to which a partial or complete limitation of electricity consumption by participants in retail and wholesale markets is carried out. The article also defines the level of energy supply in case of violation by users of their obligations, as well as if it is necessary to take urgent measures to eliminate or prevent emergencies. Rules for the functioning of markets - another normative act that regulatesissues related to energy supply. They are approved by government decree No. 530.
Basic requirements of the law
The procedure established by the Federal Law is used in case of non-fulfillment of obligations to pay for energy supply and provides:
- Mandatory preliminary (not less than 10 days) warning about the envisaged introduction of a partial or complete restriction of the mode of electricity supply. The notification contains information about the state of the consumer's debt, the expected date of supply shutdown.
- Prohibition on violation of the rights of other consumers in connection with the imposed restrictions on the delivery mode and its level.
- Mandatory introduction of preliminary partial shutdowns of the consumption mode before a complete cessation of supply.
- Responsibility for violation of the restriction order, resulting in damage to users or electricity suppliers.
- Provision of security for payment obligations to sellers by categories of consumers established by legislation at the expense of budgetary funds of the corresponding levels.
- Measures for the social protection of the population of the Russian Federation, including the provision of compensation for payment of the cost of electricity, carried out in accordance with the law.
- Inadmissibility of restrictions on the consumption regime before the expiration of the period of validity of the provisions provided from the budget funds of the corresponding level.
Rolling Blackoutselectricity
They occur due to the inability of suppliers to supply consumers with products in full. In this case, there is a discrepancy between the needs of users and the capabilities of the seller. Rolling blackouts occur as a result of emergencies and are also the result of high consumer debt.
World practice
It should be noted that rolling blackouts generally do not occur in developed countries. If they happen, they are local in nature and are the result of accidents. For developing countries, by contrast, rolling blackouts are considered common practice. As a rule, this is due to a mismatch between the generated and supplied product and existing demand.
Legal
As arbitration practice shows, rolling blackouts are a rather urgent problem for many enterprises. The situation is aggravated by the fact that domestic legislation does not approve of such actions of suppliers, since they lead to unprofitable activities of organizations. As mentioned above, the Civil Code regulates the supply of electricity. The responsibility of the supplying organization for underdelivery is established in Art. 547. The Criminal Code provides for punishment for an illegal interruption of the supply of energy, which caused significant harm and a threat to the he alth of the population, as well as other negative consequences, including the death of citizens. Criminal liability is provided for in Art. 251. In Federal Law No. 35, in detailthe obligations and rights of both consumers and electricity suppliers are defined. Along with this, the law establishes a regulation on warranty obligations for users. The above acts prohibit rolling blackouts for consumers who do not have debts to the supply company.
Possible solution to the problem
According to the law, if the consumer has a debt, the supply company must find means to influence the user. In particular, the supplier may establish special regimes for the partial or complete restriction of the supply of products, take other measures to prevent rolling blackouts. The procedure for suspension of supply is established in Government Decree No. 530. An exception to the general rule is a rolling blackout due to an emergency. In the Russian Federation, supply companies try to prevent such phenomena. Only in the 90s and early 2000s. rolling blackouts were periodically carried out due to the large debts of consumers. All other restrictions were introduced solely due to emergencies.
Man-made disasters
On May 25, 2000, a rolling blackout occurred in Moscow and its suburbs, as well as in some nearby areas. As a result, railway communication was stopped, more than 1,500 people, tens of thousands of people, were locked in elevators.citizens could not get out of the subway. All this happened as a result of an accident at a substation, which was part of the Moscow energy ring. The crash happened for a number of reasons. Among them, wear and tear of equipment, hot weather, insufficient reserve capacity. There were also shortcomings and shortcomings in the supply system, obsolescence of automatic protection. In 2009, on August 17, there was a rolling blackout in Siberia. It was the result of an emergency at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. As a result of the accident, there were casu alties, the supply of electricity in Tomsk and a number of other points was limited, and the production cycle of enterprises was disrupted. At the same time, it cannot be denied that such situations occur in other countries as well. For example, in France in 2009, the supply of Provence was stopped. About 2 million people suffered from a major accident on a high-voltage main line.
Rolling outage schedule
It is introduced when the country's government is unwilling or unable to find a way out of the crisis. The rolling blackout schedule was thus introduced in Ukraine. Supply temporarily stopped from 9 to 11 am, from 20 to 22 hours. In many regions, however, suppliers did not adhere to this schedule. As a result, the duration of the shutdown was much longer than the 2 hours set. Restriction of consumption is coordinated with the local authorities of all regions. After warning the dispatch service, after 10-15 minutes, a shutdown occurs. In the fall of 2014, the first supply restrictions began in Ukraine. It wasa rolling blackout was made in Kharkov, Kremenchug, Kyiv. Such a regime was necessary to cover the resulting shortage of the product. Since December 2014, restrictions have affected the entire territory of Ukraine. In particular, a rolling blackout was carried out in Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, Sumy, Chernihiv and many other regions. The stocks of thermal power plants have rather low coal reserves, and there are also very few hydro resources. In addition, with the onset of cold weather, consumption increased, and supply companies could not cope with increased demand. In December, also in connection with the tense situation in Ukraine, there were periodic rolling blackouts in Crimea. Before joining the Russian Federation, the peninsula was supplied by Ukrainian companies. However, due to the outbreak of conflict, supplies were limited.
