Experts predict that in 2010 energy consumers and suppliers will have more frequent legal disputes
“The new law on energy conservation will result in conflicts between consumers and suppliers of energy, in the opinion of the GCE Group of Companies.”
«On January 1, 2010, a new federal law, “On energy conservation and the improvement of energy efficiency,” comes into effect. In accordance with this law, property owners are required to increase the energy efficiency the buildings in which they live. For this purpose it is proposed that residential buildings be outfitted with various meters to account for their use of energy resources.
In the opinion of the largest energy auditors in Europe, the GCE Group of Companies, lawmakers propose that property owners not trust the meters of the utility company[energy provider], but verify them, and pay only for electrical energy actually used, excluding charges for thermal and electrical energy losses which occur within the supply network.
“This, of course, is a good thing,” says GCE Group president Alexander Moskalenko. “Today’s reality is that consumers are paying for heat losses and power losses in the electrical grids, for [faulty] [dilapidated] equipment and for the discrepancies in the power supply lines which they cause. The Regional Energy Commissions (REK) annually confirm losses in the power grids on the order of 7-9%, but, in fact, they are greater. If the law is successfully implemented, the power supplier [utility company] will have the incentive to put money into modernizing the heating supply networks. As long as the individual consumer is footing the bill, the situation will not fundamentally change.”
However, according to the opinion of the energy auditors, proprietors of multi-unit apartment buildings will have to deal with problems of accuracy in metering.
“There are very few Russian-manufactured thermal energy meters --- and they are not error-free,” asserts Vasily Tarasovksy, technical director of GCE-Energy. “Simply put, the utility company’s meter is going to show one thing, and those of building residents will show something completely different.”
“This will be a source of endless disputes between energy suppliers and the residents of the building,” the experts believe.
Background note: GCE Group of Companies (GCE) is one of the largest energy auditors in Europe. As part of the GCE Group of Companies, GCE–Energy specializes in energy audits, and it also does business in India and Brazil. It is responsible for the development of energy conservation programs for some of the world’s largest energy corporations. Among those enterprises are Gazprom, Rosneft, TNK-BP, CPFL, Enel, and many others.