Obligatory site requirements for obtaining a license for supplying of gas or electricity

The following will be considered in this article:

• how to register a website in compliance with license provisions (when getting a license for natural gas and electricity supply)
• without which requirements it is impossible to get a license

To get a license for certain types of economic activity, a business entity should comply with license provisions. And then he should collect and submit the package of documents to the licensing authority. In some cases, it is additionally required to have a website that should comply with license provisions. If the website is made without taking into consideration the requirements (or there is no website at all), that will be a reason for refusal to issue a license (that decision is to be taken by the licensing authority).

In general, the websites for natural gas supply and for electricity supply are similar in the form, but there are differences in the content. Because getting a license for natural gas supply is regulated by the Resolution of the NEURC (National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission of Ukraine) dated 16.02.2017 No. 201. And getting a license for electricity supply is regulated by the Resolution of the NEURC dated 27.12.2017 No. 1469.

Requirements for the website when getting a license for electricity supply

The licensee should provide functioning of the website in the internet. The following should be specified on the website:

• communication means (phone number for consumers to apply, a postal address, e-mail, addresses and phone numbers of Consumer Service Centers);
• information about procedure of submitting applications from consumers, and also information about complaints and claims;
• providing and consideration of messages about electric safety threat;
• normative and legal acts that regulate the activity at the electric power market (according to which the electricity supplier performs the licensed activity);

In case of changes and additions, the following information is to be updated:

• standard agreement of electricity supply from the universal services supplier;
• rules of the retail market;
• terms of supply, prices for electricity, and also information about consumer’s right for choosing an electricity supplier;
• annual report about universal services supplier’s economic activity, which, in particular, should contain information about number of universal services supplier’s consumers, and the total amount of the electricity supplied.

Requirements for the website when getting a license for natural gas supply

In this case, the license applicant should place the following information on the website:

• an agreement about natural gas supplies which (gas) is offered to the consumers, and the current version of the rules of gas supply;
• prices for natural gas, terms and conditions and ways of payment for the natural gas used (and also information required by the current law);
• general terms and conditions of supply, supplier’s and consumer’s obligations and rights;
• legal acts should be specified that regulate relations between supplier and consumer;
• the available ways of pre-trial dispute settlement with the supplier, typical agreements for natural gas supply for domestic consumers of gas (in case of intention to supply natural gas for domestic consumers) which were approved by the NEURC;
• procedure of dispute settlement by the supplier and the contact information of the licensee’s subdivisions responsible for dispute settlement (phone numbers, e-mail addresses, working hours, address, surname, first name and patronymic of responsible employees etc.);
• annual accounting reports.

In our practice there were cases when one business entity got a license both for natural gas supply and for electricity supply. For that reason a question arose: is it possible to make one website which would comply with requirements of provisions of the both licenses and not to male two individual websites?

We decided to try, and we developed a website which combined the necessary requirements (for supplies of natural gas and electricity). Although that is more difficult to implement, our lawyer combined all the license provisions on one website.

Because even if the information about working hours on the website differs from the information specified when submitting the documents, that may become a reason for refusal to issue a license.

Conclusion

Thus, judging from the license requirements, we can understand that the same thing for the both websites is availability of consumers’ contacts: postal address, phone numbers, e-mail, working hours and a list of responsible persons.

For the both websites, the following is common, too:

• typical agreements for supply;
• general terms and conditions of supply;
• procedure of price forming for services;
• procedure of dispute settlement;
• normative and legal acts that regulate supplies of gas or electricity accordingly.

However, as for filling the website with materials, the details play an important role, because getting a license for natural gas supply or electricity supply is regulated by different normative and legal acts, therefore even one incompliance of the website with the license requirements is a reason for refusal to issue a license, and result in additional expenditure of time and money which will be needed for amendment of the website in accordance with license requirements.