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On May 1, 2021, the legislation of Ukraine provides for new annual gas tariffs for the population.
According to the terms of the relevant tariffs, consumers of natural gas will rise in price. As expected, the price of a cubic meter of gas for Ukrainians will be higher than UAH 6.99 set by our government at the beginning of the year.
From now on, the price range will be from 7.88 to 13.5 UAH per m³ of gas. This figure is lower than what is expected on the market at the beginning of the next heating season.
Despite the fact that the Law determines market prices for gas fuel, consumers in Kiev and other settlements of the country will be able to buy it at a fixed cost – within a year, that is, until the end of April next year, it will not increase.
Features of gas contracts
Gas contracts, which will be concluded for a period of one year, imply the possibility of changing the cost of fuel solely downward. The legislation prohibits increasing the price indicator.
The consumer retains the right to change the supplier if the level or cost of the service does not suit the user. In this case, the consumer will need to notify the new organization dealing with gas supply. All powers and technical issues regarding the termination of the contractual relationship of a new customer with his former supplier fall within the competence of the new supplier.
The company change procedure provided for by the Law can be carried out online.
Suppliers now have the ability to offer customers commercial contracts that differ from the baseline. Let’s try to understand the differences between these two types of contracts.
The essence of basic contracts
The period of validity of the basic annual offer is from the beginning of May of the current year to April 30, 2022, regardless of the date when the gas supply contract was signed by the consumer.
During this period, the supplier is deprived of the right to increase the price – the cost of gas fuel remains fixed until the 12-month term of the base contract expires.
In the case of choosing a basic contract, the monthly payment for the supplier’s services must be made no later than the 25th day of the next month. But the conclusion of an annual contract with one company does not deprive the consumer of changing the supplier until the end of the contract.
On the specifics of commercial contracts
Consumers looking to enter into commercial contracts should be aware that such transactions have several features.:
• if the consumer decides to change the supplier, he does it openly, using the website or call center of the relevant organization;
• communication with customer service is provided by a personal account on the website;
• when renewing a contract with a company, the user will not need to re-submit documents;
• the consumer has the right to demand confirmation by the supplier, receiving his application within 15 days;
• the supplier should notify the client about the refusal to switch to another contract no later than 10 days after the date of receipt of the request from him;
• the supplier can waive a certain commercial rate, but he must inform the consumer about this at least one month in advance;
• if the commercial conditions change, the supplier must notify the consumer in advance.
It is worth knowing that the change in the cost of gas is not included in the category of these conditions. The supplier company is obliged to keep the information on the terms of the contracts of the basic and commercial companies on the official website for three years. All data on changes in contracts should be reflected in payment receipts and in the personal accounts of users.
