Draft legislation clamps down on Electricity providers

 

Parliament and Energy Industry regulators are discussing new legislation which will oblige all Electricity providers to offer free-phone customer service help lines.

Currently electricity providers profit from their clients having to make lengthy calls at their own expense in order to try and rectify problems that were often of the provider's own causing.

As soon as the new law takes effect, providers will be given 3 months to implement a free customer service line and to ensure that they itemise all costs charged on a client's factura. The new law also imposes a maximum period of 1 month to resolve all customer service issues. If they fail to do this the regulator could impose a penalty of up to 10% of their net profits.

The PSOE's electoral candidate, Alfredo Rubalcaba, says the proposal is to call to account any inefficiencies of the providers and to protect the interests of the consumer.

The draft legislation will be debated further by Parliament in September.