The new regulations developed by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) increase the rights of end customers and simplify the information in the natural gas bill, the institution informs, through a press release.
“During the meeting of the Regulatory Committee on 16.03.2023, we approved Order no. 14/2023 for the amendment and completion of some Orders of the President of the National Energy Regulatory Authority and of the repeal of the Order of the President of the National Energy Regulatory Authority no. 96/2015 for the approval of the Regulation on the activity of informing end customers of electricity and gas of natural gas, with subsequent amendments and additions, which brings improvements to the regulatory framework for carrying out the activity of supplying natural gas to the places of consumption of final customers”, the document states.
As a result of the new approved provisions, the minimum information that a standard offer for the supply of natural gas and a contract for the supply of natural gas must contain has been detailed, including detailing the components of the final price, and we have simplified the minimum content of all invoices of natural gas, providing the mandatory information to be included by the supplier in them.
Thus, in order to ensure a better understanding by the end customer of the natural gas bill, its content has been structured so that the end customer can easily understand what the invoiced consumption is and how much he has to pay for it.
According to the quoted source, the content of the invoice has been simplified, it includes the following priority information on the first page: the identification and contact data of the supplier and the final customer, the date of termination of the contract, if the contract is concluded for a fixed period, the number and date of issue invoices, the start and end date of the invoicing period, the invoiced natural gas consumption, the payment due date, unpaid payment obligations, if applicable, as well as the total payment amount including VAT.
“The details regarding the invoice, including the breakdown of the components that make up the final price invoiced by the supplier to the end customer, will be on the second page, and the annexes to the invoice will include a series of additional information that does not refer to the invoice, but which can be useful to the end customer during the development of the natural gas supply contract and billing information that periodically gives him a comprehensive perspective on the actual consumption achieved and the current cost of natural gas, so that he has the possibility to adjust his own consumption”, the statement also says.
At the same time, in order to support the final customers, if the supplier issues the invoice for a billing period longer than that provided for in the contract or established according to the regulations in force, he has the obligation to pay the amounts owed by the customer in installments, on a period at least equal to the invoicing period for which the invoice was issued, without charging penalties.
“Last but not least, we introduced provisions related to additional protection measures for vulnerable customers as well, by granting a facility regarding the installment payment of the invoice, upon request, for a period of at least 3 months or agreed by the parties. And also as an additional measure to protect the end customers, we have detailed the ways in which the supplier resolves the end customer’s complaints regarding invoicing, as he is not obliged to pay the invoice for which he has submitted a complaint to the supplier until the complaint is resolved”, it is also stated in communicated.
