According to the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE), there are restrictions on the days on which electricity disconnection due to non-payment can be carried out. For customers supplied at normal low voltage, including domestic consumers, the interruption cannot occur on Fridays, on the days before holidays, on holidays, or during weekends. This protection limits the days on which disconnection can be executed, but it does not eliminate the debt nor prevent the supply from being interrupted on another date, after the applicable procedures and deadlines have been met.
The Commercial Relations Regulation establishes that the written notice must have a minimum advance period of 20 days. For economically vulnerable customers, that is, consumers who meet the conditions to benefit from the social tariff, the minimum advance period is 30 days. The communication must identify the reason, explain how to avoid disconnection, indicate the reconnection conditions, the costs of interruption and reconnection, as well as the date from which the power reduction and interruption may occur.
For customers at normal low voltage, disconnection due to debt must be preceded by a power reduction to 1.15 kVA per phase, provided there is access to the installation. This intervention requires written communication at least five days in advance. If payment continues to be outstanding, the 20-day period for disconnection is counted from the reduction. Lack of access to the installation to reduce power does not prevent disconnection, provided the applicable notice is given.
Those left without electricity should contact the supplier to find out how to regularize payment, and may request an installment agreement. If they believe the disconnection violated the rules, they should present the situation to the company. If they do not receive a response or disagree with the explanation, they may use the Electronic Complaints Book. ERSE automatically receives a copy of the complaint and monitors the process. The supplier has 15 working days to respond, and if it fails to do so or if the consumer continues to disagree, they may request ERSE's intervention.
