315 / 522
result of non-disclosure of these amounts on the bills sought for the
lost/illegal electricity, this practise is in breach of the notion of trans-
parent state.
What is the course to be taken in collecting the cost of lost/
illegal electricity?
Individual subscribers may submit a petition to their supplier com-
pany requesting a document detailing the cost of lost/illegal electricity
included in their bill. Subsequently, the electricity supply company is
obligated to provide the subscriber with a document detailing the elec-
tric energy consumption for the past 12 months, retrospectively, and
free of charge. This obligation is based on Article 19 of the “Regulation
of Electricity Market Consumer Services.” The subscriber then applies
to the Consumer Arbitration Tribunal with the said document. Thus,
the legal process begins.
At this point, it is important that the applicant and the owner of the
installations are the same persons, or that the application is made by a
person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the installations. In
accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned regulation, due
to the fact that the subscribers may obtain the breakdown of the bills
for the past 12 months, whether the calculation of reimbursement is
applied, retrospectively, for the last 10 years, and how much that
amount will be is determined by the judiciary.
Can the legal entities’ subscribers request reimbursement of
lost/illegal use costs?
Under the provisions of the Electricity Market Consumer Services
Regulation, the consumer is defined as “The person who purchases
electricity for their own use” without any distinction between real or
legal entities. Under the provisions of Law 6502 on the Consumer
Protection Law (the “CPL”), the consumer is defined as a “real or legal
entity who acts for purposes other than commercial or occupational
purposes.” As is evident, both in the Regulation, as well as in the CPL,
corporate persons are considered to be consumers. It is stipulated
under the decisions numbered E. 2014/12810, K. 2014/12352 and E.
2014/7207, K.2014/14473 of the 3rd Civil Chamber of Court of
ENERGY LAW
299