The consumer has the right, in the established manner, to change the electricity supplier by concluding a new agreement on the supply of electricity to the consumer (electricity supply by a universal service provider) with a new electricity supplier. (Retail Electric Power Market Rules (hereinafter REPM Rules), approved by the Resolution of the NEURC dated 14.03.2018 No. 312).

The process of changing the electricity supplier by the consumer is ensured by the subjects (participants) of the electricity market and participants of the retail electricity market who are involved in the process of changing the electricity supplier and provide the change and information exchange during such a change on a free-of-charge basis.

As a general rule, the change of electricity supplier at the initiative of the consumer must be completed within a period of no more than three weeks from the date of notification by such consumer of the intention to change the electricity supplier.

At the request of the consumer, the change of electricity supplier must be completed according to the expedited rule within a period of no more than 3 calendar days, provided one of the following conditions is met:

- ensuring the reading of actual data from the consumer's metering device(s) by an automated commercial metering system;

- receipt by the system operator (commercial metering administrator (data, information, etc.)) of the consumer's agreement with the previous and new suppliers on forecast data of the metering device(s) readings as of the date of electricity supplier change, in accordance with the previous electricity supplier's invoice for advance payment or prepayment.

In such case, the change of records in the registers of commercial metering points of electricity suppliers is carried out within one hour of the working day the commercial metering administrator receives the request for a supplier change in the manner specified in Clause 6.1.8 of the REPM Rules or within another period agreed upon by the parties.

The day of notification by the consumer of the intention to change the electricity supplier is considered the date of the recorded application by the consumer to the new electricity supplier regarding the intention to conclude an agreement on the supply of electricity to the consumer.

If the consumer has a valid agreement on the supply of electricity to the consumer with a fixed term (duration), in order to avoid penalties for early termination of the agreement by the previous electricity supplier, the consumer must notify the new electricity supplier of the intention to conclude an agreement for the supply of electricity 21 calendar days before the expiration date of the current agreement.

If the consumer has applied to a new electricity supplier with the intention to conclude an electricity supply agreement more than 21 days before the date of the planned supplier change specified by the consumer in the notification, the commercial metering administrator must send the new electricity supplier a notification regarding the postponement of the start of the supplier change procedure, which should begin 21 days before the planned date; the new electricity supplier shall inform the consumer of this within 2 working days. In case of disagreement with the postponement of the start of the change procedure, the consumer sends the new electricity supplier a notification to stop (cancel) the supplier change procedure. The new electricity supplier shall, within one working day, send the commercial metering administrator a notification to stop (cancel) the supplier change procedure.

An active consumer under the self-generation mechanism changes the electricity supplier from the first day of the calendar month. The purchase and sale agreement under the self-generation mechanism, concluded with the previous electricity supplier, shall terminate on the first day of the calendar month following the conclusion of the agreement by the Active Consumer with the new electricity supplier.

Within a single electricity supplier change procedure by a consumer in accordance with the procedure defined in this section, only one electricity supplier may be changed. At the same time, the consumer may initiate several supplier change procedures simultaneously.

The notification of the intention to conclude a new agreement with a new electricity supplier is provided in the form of an application for accession to the electricity supply agreement for the consumer under the terms of the published commercial offer of the electricity supplier; if the parties have reached mutual agreement to conclude the agreement on terms not contained in the published commercial offers of the electricity supplier, the consumer must provide the following information to the new electricity supplier in the notification of intent:

1) personal data (surname, name, patronymic) of the consumer or an authorized person, or company name (for legal entities), as well as for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs: an extract from the Unified State Register (USR) printed from the Internet, or a copy of the certificate, or a copy of the extract from the USR; for individuals: a copy of the certificate of assignment of an identification number or tax registration number, or passport series and number (for individuals who, due to religious or other beliefs, refuse an identification number, have officially notified the relevant state authorities, and have a corresponding mark in their passport);

2) contact details (phone number, email, mailing address for correspondence, etc.);

3) EIC-code(s) of the consumer's commercial metering point(s);

4) the name of the current electricity supplier;

5) an invoice for the electricity actually consumed during the previous period, issued to the consumer by the previous electricity supplier;

6) in case of a supplier change under the expedited procedure, forecast data of the metering device(s) readings as of the change date, agreed with the previous supplier;

7) other data provided for in the application for accession to the electricity supply agreement (if a specific commercial offer is chosen) and other documents required by the offer;

8) consent to the processing of personal data and its use to obtain information about the consumer from the commercial metering administrator.

Notification of intent to conclude a new agreement via info-communication systems and/or electronic communication means is provided as a completed accession application signed using electronic identification; if other terms are agreed, it is submitted as an electronic document with the consumer's signature.

The start date of the electricity supplier change procedure is the date of receipt of all necessary data provided for in Clause 6.1.5 of the REPM Rules.

If incomplete data is received, the supplier must notify the consumer within 3 working days. After receiving all data, the supplier shall provide confirmation of the start of the procedure within one day.

The new electricity supplier, within 3 working days from the date of receiving the consumer's request to change the supplier, must send a request to the commercial metering administrator regarding the supplier change.

The request is sent to the commercial metering administrator in the form of an electronic document signed by the new supplier in a format established by the administrator, containing the terms of the agreement with the consumer necessary for managing the supplier change procedure:

- EIC-code of the commercial metering point(s) for which the supplier change is planned;

- the start/end dates of the electricity supply agreement with the consumer;

- the type of supply and the method of payment for electricity distribution/transmission services under the agreement, identification data of the party(ies) with whom the agreement for electricity distribution/transmission services for the commercial metering point(s) has been concluded).

After receiving and verifying the request for a change of electricity supplier, the commercial metering administrator shall, during the next working day, send the consumer's commercial metering service provider a corresponding request for a control reading of commercial electricity metering data, which must contain:

1) EIC-code(s) of the consumer's commercial metering point(s);

2) the planned start date of electricity supply by the new electricity supplier.

The commercial metering administrator, no later than the end of the next working day from the date of receiving the request for a change of electricity supplier, must generate forecast consumption volumes for the metering point (commercial metering point) as of the planned date of the supplier change and:

1) verify information about the consumer and their facility (facilities);

2) notify the new electricity supplier about the possibility (or lack thereof) of carrying out the supplier change;

3) notify the consumer's previous electricity supplier about the receipt of the request for a supplier change, the planned date of the change, and the forecast consumption volumes as of that date.

If the commercial metering administrator uses data from automated commercial metering systems or generates forecast data for metering device readings, the requirements of this clause do not apply in the cases provided for in Clause 6.1.3 of the REPM Rules.

The commercial metering service provider, in case of a supplier change under the general rule, within 5 calendar days after receiving a request from the commercial metering administrator, must:

1) generate forecast data for commercial metering device readings as of the supplier change date and notify the retail market participants involved in the supplier change;

2) schedule the reading of actual data from commercial metering devices as of the date of the electricity supplier change.

If the possibility of a supplier change is confirmed, the notifications from the commercial metering administrator must contain:

1) to the new electricity supplier:

- confirmation of the supplier change date;

- information on the consumer's electricity consumption history for past periods;

2) to the previous electricity supplier:

- notification of the supplier change and the date of such change;

3) to the system operator:

- notification of the supplier change and the date of such change;

- forecast electricity consumption volumes for the metering point as of the planned change date and the forecast volume of electricity distribution for the next billing period.

In the absence of the possibility of a supplier change, the commercial metering administrator notifies the new electricity supplier, stating the reason for refusal to ensure the supplier change, which serves as a basis for stopping (canceling) the supplier change procedure.

The commercial metering administrator notifies the new and previous suppliers of the refusal to ensure the electricity supplier change in the following cases:

1) termination of power supply to the consumer's facility (facilities) at the request of the previous electricity supplier and/or the existence of such a request sent in the prescribed manner as of the date of the consumer's notification of the intent to conclude a new agreement with a new electricity supplier;

2) the consumer does not have a valid consumer agreement for electricity distribution (transmission) services with the relevant system operator for those EIC codes of commercial metering points provided by the consumer to the new electricity supplier along with the notification of the intent to conclude a new agreement.

Upon receiving notification from the commercial metering administrator regarding the impossibility of a supplier change, the new electricity supplier must inform the consumer, including through info-communication systems and/or electronic communication means if the agreement was concluded via such means, no later than the end of the next working day after receiving such notification, providing appropriate justification and recommendations to the consumer.

After receiving notification of the supplier change from the commercial metering administrator, the previous electricity supplier must take all necessary measures in connection with the termination of the electricity supply agreement with the consumer as of the planned supplier change date.

Until the termination of the electricity supply agreement, the previous electricity supplier is obliged to ensure the supply of electricity under the terms of the current agreement.

No later than 5 calendar days before the expiration of the electricity supply agreement, the previous electricity supplier must issue an electricity invoice to the consumer based on forecast commercial metering data provided by the commercial metering administrator. This requirement does not apply to cases where the supplier change occurs within a period of less than 5 days.

The lack of payment by the consumer of the issued invoices as of the date of the supplier change and/or the existence of a dispute between the consumer and the previous electricity supplier is not a ground for stopping (canceling) the supplier change procedure.

On the specified date of the supplier change, the commercial metering service provider, in the presence of the consumer and/or the system operator, must take actual readings of the metering device(s) or ensure their reading by an automated commercial metering system.

The commercial metering service provider must transmit actual commercial metering data at the time of the supplier change to the commercial metering administrator. Within one working day after the supplier change, the commercial metering administrator sends the received actual data to the previous and new electricity suppliers.

These data serve as the basis for corrective settlements between the consumer and the previous electricity supplier and as the initial data for the consumer's settlements with the new electricity supplier.

If the actual commercial metering data exceeds the forecast data, the consumer must make payments in favor of the previous electricity supplier within 5 days from the date of receipt of the final invoice.

If the consumer has made an overpayment based on forecast consumption data, the previous electricity supplier must return the excess funds to the consumer within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the application, using the account details specified by the consumer in the application.

These payments must be made by the parties within 10 days after the electricity supplier change.

If the system operator has received an advance payment (prepayment) from the previous electricity supplier for distribution and/or transmission services for a period in which this supplier will not be providing supply, such supplier is entitled to a refund of the paid funds from the system operator or their credit toward payments for other consumers of such supplier. The refund is carried out upon the supplier's application.

If, no later than 3 calendar days before the supplier change date, the consumer and/or the new electricity supplier (except in cases where the agreement is concluded by the consumer's accession to a public commercial offer) express a desire to stop the supplier change process, the consumer and/or the new electricity supplier must notify the commercial metering administrator within one working day. The consumer provides notification through the new supplier or through the current supplier. Such notification serves as a basis for the commercial metering administrator to ensure the cancellation of the initiated supplier change procedure and as a ground for the administrator's refusal to ensure the supplier change.

In case the new electricity supplier acquires a "Default" status in accordance with the Market Rules during the implementation of the supplier change process, the commercial metering administrator ensures the cancellation of the initiated supplier change procedure.

The commercial metering administrator shall immediately notify the previous electricity supplier regarding the suspension of the supplier change process.

The new electricity supplier, at the consumer's request, must inform them about the stages of the supplier change procedure. The date of commencement of electricity supply by the new electricity supplier and the date of termination of supply under the terms of the agreement with the previous electricity supplier is the date specified in the request for a change of electricity supplier, which is properly sent by the new electricity supplier to the commercial metering administrator, accepted and implemented by the commercial metering administrator with the corresponding entry of data regarding the change of electricity supplier in the registers of commercial metering points.

The consumer has the right, within 14 calendar days after the supplier change, to initiate a procedure for transitioning to another electricity supplier without paying penalties for early termination of the agreement.

The cancellation of the supplier change procedure is ensured by the commercial metering administrator by changing the records in the register of commercial metering points in the manner determined by the Commercial Metering Code.

Subjects (participants) of the electricity market and retail market participants involved in the supplier change process are liable for damages caused to other subjects and the consumer in the established manner.