The Superintendency of Electricity (SIE) indicated yesterday that, in the event that the electricity distribution companies (EDE) cannot register the energy consumption of their clients due to metering equipment, they can bill based on a fixed monthly consumption and they would not be committing illegality.
Yesterday, Free Journal published a note about an internal report of the Eastern Electricity Distribution Company (Edeeast) in which it is highlighted that the entity lacks materials, such as meters, and personnel in the billing area, which has generated an increase in the estimated billing of users. In addition, it warns about a decrease in real billing.
On the subject, the SIE said that “article 462 of the Regulations of Law 125-01 indicates that in cases in which consumption by equipment or direct connections is not recorded, the distribution company will bill based on a fixed consumption monthly established based on the power and hours of use of the electrical equipment”.
He specified that the billing calculations must be made according to an approved consumption table, endorsed by the SIE, which will be used for the calculations of the “fixed monthly consumption”, the “bonds” and the “appraisals for irregularities”. but he pointed out that each case should be seen individually.
When asking if Edeeast would be incurring in illegality for the amounts collected, indicated that “the distribution company will have the right to verify the conditions of permanence of the planned consumption and adjust it in case of modifications, as well as to install corresponding measurement equipment when the technical conditions or the availability of equipment allow it.”
He added that this institution has been working on the Electricity Service Quality Regulation in which they will establish criteria and deadlines to solve this type of situation, which, as he commented, is historical.
“For the next few days, we are convening all distributors (public and private) in order to present them with the new investment plan models so that the regulator can carry out effective monitoring and control in order to solve this situation,” said the Superintendence. .
Situation according to the report
The report on the status of Edeeast It was prepared by a technical staff of the company, which evaluated various aspects of the electrical service to analyze the evolution of energy losses and other problems with the billing of the service.
From 2021 to date, estimated customer billing has increased from 12 to 40 GWh per month, approximately, the document details.
As of June this year, Edeeast it had 164,325 customers without a meter, a number greater than those of Edesur (74,880) and Edenorte (145,733). Those invoiced totaled 717,255, according to statistics from the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
According to the report, the actual billing in August 2021 was 202 GWh and in August 2022 it fell to 155.4 GWh, “which represents a decrease of 23%, this caused by the increase in direct connections and estimated supplies. ”.
