19 Amendments of Zigmantas BALČYTIS related to 2016/0380(COD)
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 36
Recital 36
(36) In order to assist consumers' active participation in the electricity market, the smart metering systems to be deployed by Member States in their territory should be interoperable, not represent a barrier to switching of supplier, and should be equipped with fit-for-purpose functionalities that allow consumers to have near-real time access to their consumption data, modulate their energy consumption and, to the extent that the supporting infrastructure permits, offer their flexibility to the network and to energy services companies, be rewarded for it, and achieve savings in their electricity bill. Smart meters shall be free of charge to energy-poor final household consumers.
Amendment 364 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point g
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point g
(g) have the right to a good standard of service and complaint handling by their electricity service provider. Electricity service providers shall handle complaints in a simple, fair and prompt manner. If the service provided is either bundled with or relies upon software, hardware or communication technology, final customers shall have a single contact point through which they can launch complaints;
Amendment 371 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point i a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point i a (new)
(ia) shall, in accordance with the concept of vulnerable consumers as described in Article 28, prohibit the disconnection of electricity and gas to vulnerable consumers;
Amendment 380 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point j a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point j a (new)
(ja) the disconnection of the electricity supply to final customers can never be justified through the lack of payment for additional products and/or services provided by the supplier;
Amendment 382 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point j b (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point j b (new)
(jb) shall ensure that all suppliers provide an efficient, fair and effective complaint handling procedure. National Regulatory Authorities can ensure this and best practices and standards of complaint handing may be introduced.
Amendment 556 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. final household customers have easy and clear access to information, including through their single point of contact in Article 25, on their rights that apply to their participation in the market as active consumers.
Amendment 616 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
(aa) final household and public customers are entitled to voluntarily participate as members in a local energy community. SME final customers may be allowed to become a member of a local energy community, provided that this participation does not constitute their primary economic activity;
Amendment 625 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
(ca) final household customers have easy access to information, including through their single point of contact in Article 25, on their rights to participate in a local energy community, including how to exercise their entitlement to join, participate in, and leave an energy community, and how to access alternative dispute mechanisms.
Amendment 743 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Billing shall take place on the basis of actual consumption at least once a year. Billing information shall be made available at least once every three months, upon request or where the final customers have opted to receive electronic billing at any time or else twice a year.
Amendment 747 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
Article 18 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
This obligation may be fulfilled by a system of regular readings by the operator or voluntary self-reading by the final customers whereby they communicate readings from their meter to the supplier. Only when the final customer has not been provided a meter reading for a given billing interval may billing be based on estimated consumption or a flat rate. The estimated consumption shall be based on a transparent calculation of either the previous year's consumption or the consumption of a comparable household.
Amendment 772 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 8
Article 18 – paragraph 8
8. Member States shall require that information and estimates for electricity costs, as well as demand response data or data on electricity sold or fed into the grid are provided to final customers on demand in a timely manner and in an easily understandable format. In the case that there will be a future change of product or price in the contract, then this information should be clearly included in the bill, along with the date of this change. A separate notification of this change shall also be sent in advance to the final customer.
Amendment 776 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 8 a (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Bills and settlement statements shall provide the most important information for consumers on the first page. The first page may contain a shortened version of the key information, with further details included in the in subsequent pages of the bill or settlement statement. Final customers will also be able to access more detailed information both online and through an offline format that is free of charge, consumer friendly and easily accessible so that household consumers without internet access are not at a disadvantage.
Amendment 780 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 8 b (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Suppliers shall inform final household customers when a cheaper tariff is available through clearly stating this on the first page of their bill. They shall then provide more detailed information and how customers can switch in the subsequent pages of the bill.
Amendment 782 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 8 c (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Consumer organisations shall be consulted by Member States when they consider changes to the format of bills, as keeping the clarity of information for consumers is fundamentally important. Consumer organisations shall also be involved for the testing of new bill formats.
Amendment 795 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 4
Article 19 – paragraph 4
4. Member States that proceed with smart metering deployment shall ensure that final customers contribute to the associated costs of the roll-out in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. Member States shall regularly monitor this deployment in their territories to track the evolution of costs and benefits for the whole value chain, including the delivery of net benefits to consumers. Energy-poor final household customers shall not be required to contribute to the associated costs and shall have the same access to smart meters as other final customers.
Amendment 881 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 28 – paragraph 1
Article 28 – paragraph 1
1. . Member States shall take appropriate measures to protect final customers and shall, in particular, ensure that there are adequate safeguards to protect vulnerable customers. In this context, each Member State shall define the concept of vulnerable customers which mayshall refer to energy poverty and, inter alia, to ensure the prohibition of disconnection of electricity to such customers in critical timunder any circumstances. Member States shall ensure that rights and obligations linked to vulnerable customers are applied. In particular, they shall take measures to protect customers in remote areas. They shall ensure high levels of consumer protection, particularly with respect to transparency regarding contractual terms and conditions, general information and dispute settlement mechanisms.
Amendment 1145 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 59 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
Article 59 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
(aa) ensuring that tariffs are reflective of the costs, risks and benefits that each final customer has to the network, including active customers and those engaging in demand response;
Amendment 1156 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 59 – paragraph 1 – point n
Article 59 – paragraph 1 – point n
(n) actively monitoring the level and effectiveness of market opening and competition at wholesale and retail levels, including on electricity exchanges, prices for household customers including prepayment systems, dynamic price contracts and the benefits from the use of smart meters, switching rates, disconnection rates, charges for and the execution of maintenance services, andthe relationship between household and wholesale prices, the evolution of grid tariffs and levies, complaints by household customers, as well as any distortion or restriction of competition, including providing any relevant information, and bringing any relevant cases to the relevant competition authorities;
Amendment 1180 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 59 – paragraph 1 – point q
Article 59 – paragraph 1 – point q
(q) helping to ensure, together with other relevant authorities, that the new and existing consumer protection measures, including rights of active customers and, in particular, final household customers are effective and enforced;