According to the provisions of the Energy Law, a discount for failure to meet the quality standards of service of electricity customers is due to customers without a summons, and failure to pay it exposes the energy company to fines. Provisions specifying the amount of discounts should be included in the sales contract or comprehensive agreement, but the issue of calculating the amount of the discount turns out to be more complicated and depends on several factors.
The right of an electricity customer to receive a discount for failure to meet service quality standards has its basis in the Energy Law. The method of calculating discounts for failure to meet quality standards in responding to complaints is set forth in the Decree of the Minister of Climate and Environment dated November 29, 2022 on the method of shaping and calculating tariffs and the method of settlements in electricity trade (the so-called “Tariff Decree”) and the electricity tariff approved by the President of the ERO. When calculating the amount of discounts for failure to meet electricity quality paramentals and customer service quality standards, reference should be made to the Decree of the Minister of Climate and Environment dated March 22, 2023 on detailed conditions for the operation of the electric power system (the so-called “system regulation”).
It should be noted that the energy company does not have the possibility to evade the payment of the discount due, since, in accordance with the established line of case law, in the event of failure to meet quality standards, electricity consumers are entitled to monetary compensation in the form of a discount, regardless of the reasons for the improper performance of the obligation by the energy company (Resolution of the Supreme Court of 18.09.2014, ref. III SZP 1/14).
If the energy seller does not have a Tariff, the amount of discounts is determined by regulation based on the average salary in the previous calendar year in the national economy published by the President of the Central Statistical Office in the form of a communiqué. In 2023, it amounted to PLN 7,155.48.
According to §44 of the tariff regulation, the amount of discount depends on the type of violation of the quality standard. For example, the amount of discount will be:
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- 1/50 of the average wage, for failure to accept a notification or complaint from the Customer;
- 1/50 of the average remuneration, for failure to provide information on billing rules and current tariffs upon request;
- 1/250 of the average remuneration, for each day of delay in case of exceeding the 14-day time limit for responding to the application, or the Customer’s complaint about the billing rules;
- 1/50 of the average remuneration, for refusal to provide customers, at their request, with information on the expected date of resumption of electricity supply, interrupted due to network failure;
- 1/250 of the average remuneration, for each day of delay in case of exceeding the 14-day deadline for checking the correctness of operation of the metering and billing system or the deadline for laboratory verification of the correctness of operation of the metering and billing system.
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The power company is obliged to pay the rebate within 30 days, calculated from the last day on which there was a failure to meet the quality standards of customer service, or from the date of receipt of the electricity customer’s application for a rebate, while excluded from the obligation to grant a rebate remains the failure to meet the quality parameters of electricity defining the permissible times of interruption in the supply of electricity. It should be noted that the deadline for consideration of a complaint by the power company may be extended, due to the complexity of the case, including the need for measurements. In such a case, within the 14 days provided for the processing of the complaint, the electricity customer should be informed of the new planned date for the processing of the complaint, so as not to exceed the statutory deadline and not to expose themselves to the payment of a discount for violation of the standard of service quality. Similarly, in the event that it is necessary to obtain data from the DSO in order to process a complaint, the electricity company must inform the customer of the reason for the delay, and of the expected response date, which should not exceed 30 days from the date of the complaint.
The sanction for the power company’s failure to pay the rebate may be imposed by the President of the ERO, and is contingent on whether or not the company has an energy price tariff. If the energy company refuses to grant a discount, the energy consumer may turn to a court of law for payment based on the company’s contractual liability.
The energy company shall take into account the amount of the discount due at the next billing period.
