Electric energy consumed in a multi-apartment residential building is used in two directions: for each separate apartment and for the communal use facilities (such as staircase landings, basements, mechanical floors, refuse collecting chambers, elevators, house intercom systems and other). Electric energy for a separate apartment is metered by means of an individual metering device (a meter). Electric energy metering for communal useis carried out by means of a building-level metering device installed at the border of balance sheet attribution of the electric power networks according to the approved tariffs and subject to billing.

Pursuant to Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On housing relations”, owners of the premises (apartments) are obliged to participate in covering all the expenses  in connection with maintaining communal property and the house. The amount of expenses incurred by every owner shall be calculated proportionally to the occupied area.

The general meeting of the apartment owners may determine another cost allocation method for communal use in respect of every separate apartment, whether based on the number of people living in an apartment, or in equal parts among all the apartments.

The decision of the general meeting of owners in respect of that  issue shall be executed through the minutes and submitted to “Pavlodarenergosbyt” LLP.

If the  general meeting of owners submits the duly executed minutes in which it delegates the power of communal use payments to an apartment owners’ cooperative, such cooperative shall provide for “Electric energy consumed for communal use”  item in their budgetary cost estimate and bills issued to the owners; in any case, payments for electric energy consumed for communal use shall be covered by apartment dwellers, in this instance, with the help of the apartment owners’ cooperative.

The decision made by apartment owners shall comply with the Law, namely:

• A decision is made by the general meeting of owners of the premises (apartments);
• A decision can be made at the general meeting provided that not less than two-thirds of the total number of the owners of the premises (apartments);
• A decision is made by a majority of votes of the total number of apartments owners;
• The minutes of the general meeting shall be signed by Chairman and Secretary of the meeting. A worksheet indicating the number of the participating owners of the premises (apartments)  shall be attached to the minutes;
• When there is no quorum, the voting shall be carried out through a written inquiry.

If the owners do not delegate the power to an apartment owners’ cooperative to make payments for electric energy communal use to “Pavlodarenergosbyt” LLP, then each apartment is billed separately for electric energy consumed for communal use, and the apartment owners shall make payments by themselves directly at “Pavlodarenergosbyt” LLP office. 

When making decisions on that issue, one should take into consideration the following information.

In case the owners of the apartments pay for electric energy consumed for the communal use directly to “Pavlodarenergosbyt” LLP, the business relationship between two parties  is based on an agreement for a electric energy supply to a residential electric customer, and every owner shall be held personally  responsible for any indebtedness  occurred.

In case the owners of the apartments pay for electric energy consumed for the communal use with the help of an apartment owners’ cooperative, the business relationship between them and “Pavlodarenergosbyt” LLP is based on an agreement concluded with the condominium facilities administration. If there is any indebtedness for electric energy consumption, the consumers are disconnected from the power supply at the entry to a house with power supply shutdown in common areas, i.e. entrances, elevators, etc.

Whichever variant is to be chosen, it is the owners of apartments who consume electric energy for communal use and not an apartment owners’ cooperative. That is why every residential consumer shall be held personally responsible for paying electric energy bills in favor of the supplier, which is being implemented in business relationship with “Pavlodarenergosbyt” LLP at the present moment.