Unauthorized connection to a gas pipeline: types of penalties

Unauthorized connection to a gas pipeline - what does this mean?

Cutting into a highway or illegal connection, for example after disconnection for non-payment, is punishable by law. People are trying in any way to save on gas. They can rip off a plug or seal or cut into a pipe.

In the village

Responsibility for such activities can vary: fines of a certain size depending on the severity of the violation and even imprisonment.

It is important to remember that unauthorized intervention in a gas pipeline can have serious consequences, therefore, according to the law of the Russian Federation, all actions must first be negotiated with the gas service.

If it is discovered that a citizen is illegally using resources without a gas meter, then what fine he will pay depends on the severity of the violations.

How is an illegal connection to a gas pipeline detected?

Cutting off illegally installed pipes connected to a gas pipeline
Many offenders who have connected to the gas pipeline network without permission are convinced that detecting this fact is a difficult procedure from a technical point of view, which means they are safe. But that's not true. Most cases of detection of illegal connections occur during an inspection of a residential property .

During this procedure, employees of the management company or other responsible authority examine the condition of the fuel supply pipes and the structure of the overall system. The fact of insertion of extraneous pipes is revealed at the first visual inspection.

Also, detection of a violation often occurs at the request of other residents of the building or area, if they have sent a corresponding complaint to the competent authorities about the illegal use of heating resources.

If the supplier has information about a specific citizen who has been disconnected from the system due to debt, the condition of the sealed equipment will also be checked regularly.

The inspector's actions:

If an illegal tap is detected, the gas company employee who records the violation draws up an actual report;
An emergency team is called to the scene;
The violator is obliged to sign about unauthorized actions on his part under the drawn up act, which is handed over to the management of the gas company;
The fuel supply is stopped immediately;
The case of the offense is transferred to the court.

Illegal connection of gas equipment is a violation of the law . Utility service employees regularly conduct raids to identify subscribers who have unauthorizedly connected to the gas pipeline, so it will not be possible to hide the fact of illegal tapping for long. Punishment for this offense can be imposed in various ways.

Fine for unauthorized connection of gas and stove

All citizens cannot independently connect to the gas pipeline. If a gas consumer connects without the permission of the organization that supplies the population with blue fuel, such a connection is called unauthorized.

Connecting a private house

If a violation is detected, the fuel supply is immediately stopped and Gorgaz must take measures to eliminate the problem and punish those responsible.

In addition to the fine, the offender will have to pay an increased price for gas, which is calculated depending on the capacity of the illegally used gas equipment and its round-the-clock operation from the date specified in the resolution on the illegal connection.

If it is difficult to determine the date from which the violations began, the price for gas is calculated from the date when the last inspection was carried out.

The Administrative Code states that the operation of a gas stove for individuals will entail a penalty of 10–15 thousand rubles. Cafes, restaurants, private firms and other legal entities must pay 100–200 thousand rubles.

Subtleties

Lawyers argue that in practice one can notice legal incidents in the Code of Administrative Offences. The Code prescribes measures in case of violation, but does not take into account specific equipment. Studying the cases, we can conclude that most often household consumers are held accountable for unauthorized connections to the gas pipeline.

Disabling unauthorized tapping

Illegal tapping into a gas pipeline: liability in 2021

Connecting to a gas pipeline without official permission, or unauthorized removal of seals from a pipe is fraught with not only administrative, but also criminal punishment. The minimum consequences for the offender are administrative liability in the form of a fine.

If the fine is not paid on time, a late fee will be added to it. At the same time, judicial practice knows examples of criminal liability. The gas supplier has the right to sue apartment owners who unauthorizedly cut into the gas pipeline.

Both a fine for tapping and imprisonment will not relieve the violator of the need to pay the debt, as well as pay funds for the official connection. In addition to paying for actual use, the violator will have to pay an additional 35,000 rubles in 2021 for connecting a stove, and 45,000 rubles for connecting a gas water heater. If the heating boiler was also working, then another 50,000 rubles are paid.

Fine amounts

Article 7.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses applies to those who unauthorizedly connected to the gas pipeline for the first time or after disconnection due to debt . What punishment is provided in these cases?

An individual will pay up to 15,000 rubles in 2021. (instead of the previous 2000 rubles) Officials - from 30 to 80 thousand rubles.

Legal entities will have to fork out an amount of 100 to 200 thousand rubles.

Criminal liability

Criminal liability in the form of imprisonment for up to 5 years threatens those who independently removed the plug, made an unauthorized replacement of the meter, crashed into the network and caused an explosion through their irresponsible actions (Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

A fire in a house, an explosion, the death of residents of neighboring apartments are the most dangerous consequences of unauthorized tapping . It is much easier to pay off the debt and pay for the services of specialists for the installation of gas equipment than to bear responsibility for such terrible events.

An incorrect connection of gas pipes leads to a leak, which may not be noticeable immediately, but only as gas accumulates.

Punishment for tampering with the counter

They try to deceive the gas service and save money in different ways. Most often, special magnets are used. Illegal activity in the form of manipulation of metering devices can cause serious consequences.

Connection after disconnection for non-payment

If the company finds out that the readings are untrue, then they will not be taken into account when calculating the amount for gas, and the consumer will pay for the service after recalculation by the organization’s employees, and the amount will be much higher.

All points for calculating a fine for operating a gas pipeline illegally are specified in paragraph 62 of the Rules for the provision of utility services to owners of houses and apartments, approved by Resolution No. 354.

Each consumer is obliged to control the operation of the meter in an apartment or in a private house, and not to violate the integrity of the seal. If the seal is damaged, you must visit the gas service and provide evidence that this happened accidentally. If gas workers themselves see a violation during an inspection, they will not be able to avoid punishment.

Is it possible to appeal?

An appeal is possible through higher gas services. If this does not help, then you should contact the court, prosecutor's office or Rospotrebnadzor.

Near a residential building

The court is the final authority in which all conflicts are resolved, so people turn to it when other options do not help. In 2019–2020, inspections of houses and apartments were tightened, so few people manage to avoid punishment and only with strong evidence of innocence and with the help of a good lawyer.

How to connect gas supply correctly

Connecting to a gas pipeline should begin with choosing an organization that will deal with gas supply issues for a private home. The entire registration procedure consists of several stages:

It is necessary to draw up an application addressed to the head of the institution that will provide the service. It should state why it is necessary to connect a particular house to gas.
The company will set a date and time for specialists to visit a specific property.
After studying the information received, the company’s employees draw up an estimate that the home owner will have to sign.
The service applicant must pay for the work; in case of non-payment, connection is impossible.
After completing the work, the owner of the house checks everything and signs the document.

Illegal connection underground

Only after the right supplier has been selected and all documents have been completed will it be possible to avoid a fine for unauthorized connection of blue fuel to a private home. Connecting an unregistered house to a gas pipeline is impossible without registration in the manner prescribed by law.

Types of punishment for unauthorized connection to gas

Disconnection from the gas network and sanctioned sealing of equipment is the mildest of the penalties applied to violators. Other consequences may be:

Payments for used fuel assigned at the maximum rate;
Administrative penalty;
Imprisonment for illegal theft of a resource;
Long-term imprisonment for causing death or harm to health.

Of all the listed types of penalties, administrative proceedings are the most common punishment. Its aspects are regulated by Article 7.19 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (“Unauthorized connection and use of electrical, thermal energy, oil or gas”).

Forcing the offender to pay is also a popular measure; the amount of payments is calculated by making additional charges using a special formula. According to it, the power of illegally connected equipment (water heater, heating boiler, stove, etc.) is multiplied by the period recorded from the date of the last inspection of the equipment.

If this date is unknown, the last six months are taken as the actual period. Thus, the amount of payments can reach truly astronomical sizes (up to several hundred thousand rubles).

Fine amounts

The fine amounts, according to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, are the same for all categories of violators. No difference is made between those who connected to the gas pipeline network for the first time or because of a disconnection due to debt.

The amount of the fine is calculated depending on the offender’s belonging to a particular social category:

Up to two thousand rubles or more (for individuals);
From three to four to fifteen thousand (for officials);
Up to eighty thousand (for legal entities).

If the violator has previously been subject to administrative penalties for a similar offense, he may be sentenced to a restriction of freedom for a period of 2 years. A group found in a criminal conspiracy to commit illegal actions with a main pipeline will have to pay a fine of up to 200 thousand rubles or serve a sentence of up to 3 years in prison .

A fine for unauthorized gas connection is considered a lenient measure in comparison with criminal liability.

Criminal liability

The fact of an illegal tap into a gas pipeline is not only a theft of state energy resources . The danger of this offense entails potentially large consequences.

Equipment that is unauthorized is not included in the cartography of municipal and building inspections. Accordingly, employees of these services and other authorized persons do not have information about where such supply elements are located.

If excavations or repair work are carried out on the main line or individual sections of the gas pipeline, various incidents may occur. Illegally installed gas vents are not tested for safety, and if workers touch such equipment, detonation is possible .

It is difficult to predict the scale of destruction: not only structures and communications may be damaged, but also people, including the offender.

According to statistics, for the period from 2005 to 2021. The number of deaths in Russia due to accidents caused by unauthorized taps into gas distribution systems (explosions, fires, accidents, etc.) has reached about two thousand.

If, during an explosion or other emergency situation provoked by negative events associated with illegal gas tapping, death occurred or harm was caused to the health of a third party, the offender will be prosecuted in accordance with Article No. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Causing death by negligence” ). The punishment will be imprisonment for a term of up to 5–8 years . A softer version is forced labor for five years.

Gas theft can also be considered a criminal act. In this case, liability arises in accordance with Art. 158 part 3, paragraph B. The prescribed term of imprisonment is up to two years .

If the gas service turned off illegally

The gas service does not do its job perfectly. Therefore, there are cases when services are illegally disconnected. If you study all the cases, you will notice that gas may be turned off after two months of non-payment, or they may not pay attention to late payments for a year or more.

Dismantling

The gas service pays more attention to the consumer if he regularly fails to provide meter readings on time. Problems also arise if the owner does not live in the apartment for a long time and does not use gas.